Keep The Peace
by GeminiWolf89
Summary: What would happen if Maleficent had flown away without killing Stefan? If she and Diaval realize their feelings are more than just friendly? Will the peace between kingdoms last, or will another war tear the Moors, and the lovers, apart? Read to find out! M for later chapters! Diaval/Maleficent obviously.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

**Disclaimer: All characters are owned by Disney, I****'m just having fun with them for my own pleasure :)**

Two years had passed since the curse had been lifted from the Princess Aurora, and she became the Queen of the human kingdom. Two years since the evil Maleficent had become not so evil again, and the Moors turned bright and happy again. A lone figure was seen on a horse, headed towards the border between them, and as they approached, a winged figure landed in front of them. Aurora grinned and slipped off her horse, and ran forward.

"Godmother!"

"Hello, Aurora."

The two of them shared a hug before turning and heading into the Moors, chatting as they went. A familiar raven flew down, where Maleficent turned him into his human form.

"Morning, Diaval."

"Ladies." he said with a bow of the head.

Aurora grinned and hugged him as well, and after a few minutes, they reached a large clearing and sat down to talk about the goings on in their worlds. Maleficent spread her wings and leaned back on her hands, turning her face to the sky. Dialvo smirked to himself and reached over to playfully smack one of her hands out from under her, only to have her wing smack /his/ hand away.

"Nice try, birdie."

"Ah, I'll get you eventually."

"Mm...we'll see."

Aurora laughed when the man stuck his tongue out and leaned back against a tree.

"You two are funny. Oh! There's going to be a big ball at the castle in two days...I'd love it if you came."

"Last time I was there...they tried to kill me."

"They won't this time, I promise!"

Turning to dig through the bag she had with her, she produced a pair of folded papers and handed them over. Maleficent took them and handed one of them to Diaval, before flipping hers open.

"A formal invitation, eh? You really want us to come, don't you?"

Aurora nodded and smiled when Diaval moved over to sit next to the fairy, looking hopeful. The fairy in question raised an eyebrow at him, before chuckling.

"Don't look at me like that, birdie."

"You just can't be bothered to have fun, can you, Mistress?"

"Two things. I don't dance, and I'm not fond of most humans. My little beastie here is an exception."

The young Queen gave her best puppy dog eyes, and Maleficent let out a light sigh.

"You two are horrible. Alright, we'll come."

Aurora gave a near squeal of happiness and got up, saying goodbye before heading back to the castle. Diaval stood up and stretched, holding a hand out to help his mistress off the ground. She rolled her eyes a bit, but took the offered hand anyways, pulling herself to her feet.

"I could have gotten up on my own, you know."

"Ah, yes, I know." he said with a slight wink in her direction, which caused the fairy to lift an eyebrow again.

The two of them wandered the Moors in comfortable silence, every now and then stopping to talk with some of the other creatures that inhabited the area. Maleficent yawned slightly when the sun began to set, and flexed her wings a bit. The raven smiled and peered up at the darkening sky.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" he asked, moving to lean against a near-by tree.

"Indeed it is. I suppose it's time to head back to the tree, hm?"

Diaval nodded and pushed off the tree he was leaning on, heading back towards the large one where the fairy slept. Maleficent followed, and before long, they reached her tree, and she took to the sky, landing in its branches where she had a nest-like bed set up. With a wave of her hand, Diaval was transformed back into a raven, and he flew up to join her, landing on the branch next to her hand. She reached over and stroked the feathers on his back before shifting to lay more comfortably on her large wings, and closing her eyes.

"Goodnight, birdie."

A soft caw was his response as he hopped into the large nest with her and made himself comfortable. Before long, the two of them were sound asleep, the peaceful sounds of the Moors relaxing them. At some point during the night, she was awoken by Balthazar, one of the border guards.

"Hm? Balthazar? What is it?"

The large tree creature simply gestured with his head towards the border, shifting his wooden lance in his hand in agitation. Maleficent blinked and shifted, getting up, careful not to wake the slumbering raven, and took to the skies. Balthazar followed as she flew towards the border, his anxiousness rubbing off on the fairy. When she landed, her eyes narrowed and her magic flared a bit at seeing who was standing there.

"Stefan...what are you doing here...I thought I told you that you were not welcome here."

"I...just wanted to talk...I promise I won't hurt you..."

"Hurt me? As if I would allow you to ever hurt me again..."

Her wings flexed, ready to send her into the sky again if he tried anything. The former king took a step forward, which cause Balthazar to growl and move to stand in front of his Queen.

"It's alright, Balthazar...I don't think he's foolish enough to attack me, not with you here. Speak your piece and leave, Stefan."

"I wanted to apologize...for everything. I never meant to...well...I did...but..."

"Just spit it out already, idiot."

"I really did care for you, Maleficent...I don't know what came over me."

The fairy stared at him for all of two minutes, making the man feel extremely uncomfortable, before she simply laughed. Balthazar looked down at her in confusion, shifting a bit before returning his gaze to the human. A loud caw sounded before a raven swooped down and landed on her shoulder, staring intently at the former king.

"Do you think I'm that much of a fool, boy? I don't believe a word you say. I forgave you, and you stole my wings to obtain power. You killed what good was in my heart, and by the gods I wanted to kill you for it. If not for that little girl of yours, I would have."

"Maleficent please...I came here to say I was sorry."

The raven cawed loudly, and the fairy waved her hand, turning him into his human self, letting him stand next to her.

"She said you aren't welcome here, human. I suggest you leave and don't come back."

"It's alright, Diaval. Don't waste your breath on him. Balthazar, see to it our...guest...returns to his kingdom."

The tree guardian growled and stepped forward, pointing his lance at the former king, who immediately stepped back. Diaval leveled a glare at the man before turning to follow his mistress back into the Moors. Once they were a good distance in, she stopped walking, wings shaking a bit.

"Mistress? Are you alright?"

"Fine...I'm...I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine..."

Maleficent sighed and moved to sit on the ground, folding her wings against her back. Diaval sat next to her and hesitantly reached over to place a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to him and smiled a bit, not shrugging off his hand as she would have before.

"You seem upset...what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I promise. I'm just wondering if letting him go was the right thing to do...I have this nagging feeling that he'll continue to come here."

"If he does...I'm sure the guardians will take care of him."

A few moments later, Balthazar passed them, bowing his head slightly before continuing on his way.

"I didn't mean to wake you when I left, by the way."

The man-bird laughed and shook his head before standing and stretching, again holding his hand out to her, which she declined.

"Go on back, I'll be there soon."

Diaval nodded and started to walk back to the tree, hands behind his head. Maleficent rolled her eyes, and after a few moments, stood as well. Instead of going back to her tree, she wandered the Moors, healing trees and plants as she went. When the fairy reached the edge of a lake, she sat down with her legs folded under her, and reached down to run her hand through the water.

"I should have done this two years ago...ugh..."

Distracted as she was, she didn't notice the man lurking in the trees, slowly drawing a sword from it's scabbard. When her senses finally heard the sound of the iron sword being drawn, her wings stiffened, and she turned towards the noise. The moment she turned, she was charged, the sword biting into her arm, and the collision with the un-known man sending her falling into the water behind her. Maleficent splashed about to right herself in the water and get her head above the surface, but instead, her apparent attacker splashed /into/ the water and wrapped a hand around her neck to hold her down.

"Die, you disgusting creature!"

The sword he held dove into the water, again piercing her skin, remaining stuck where it landed in her side. The fairy flapped her wings desperately under the water, the tips barely breaking the surface. The commotion drew the attention of the water nymphs that lived in the lake, and they immediately rushed to their Queen's aid, throwing rocks, and anything else they could find, at the man.

He released his grip on her and blocked his face from the flying projectiles before exiting the water and running back towards the border, Balthazar and the others right on his heels.

Maleficent broke the surface with a gasp, and drug herself from the water, a pained yell escaping her when she pulled the sword from her side and tossed it away. She coughed and leaned on a rock next to the lake, catching her breath. Rustling in the trees behind her caught her attention and she immediately turned, raising her hand, ready to blast anyone that emerged.

"Mistress!"

She sighed and dropped her hand when Diaval emerged from the trees and rushed to her side.

"Mistress what happened?! You're hurt..."

"I...was distracted. A human attacked me. How he got into the Moors is beyond me, but..."

He immediately noticed the iron sword and set about examining the wound, careful not to put too much pressure on it. She let out a low hiss and closed her eyes, her wings twitching in response to the pain. The water nymphs brought over a plant from the bottom of the lake and handed it to the raven, who carefully placed it over the wound made by the sword.

"Thank you, birdie."

He smiled at her, and after securing the plant in place, he reached over to take her hand.

"Can you walk?"

"I...think so..."

He nodded and helped her stand up, the fairy stumbling a bit. Diaval caught her, and then picked her up, heading towards the tree where they slept. She looked up at him and smiled slightly, allowing one of her arms to loop around his neck, and her head to rest on his shoulder. He smiled back and once they reached the tree, he huffed.

"Hm...didn't think about this part."

Maleficent chuckled and motioned for him to put her down, which he did carefully.

"I think I can still fly, silly bird."

She spread her wings and flapped them carefully, wincing a bit when the motion caused a bit of pain.

"Perhaps we should sleep on the ground, tonight, mistress..."

"I suppose you're right..."

Diaval helped her down to the ground before sitting himself next to her, making sure the plant hadn't dislodged.

"You worry too much, Diaval. I'll be fine, really."

"I'm allowed to worry about you...I..."

"Sh. We'll talk more tomorrow. I'm exhausted."

He nodded, and once she fell asleep, he dared to lean over and kiss her forehead, right next to one of her horns. She smiled in her sleep and leaned over, falling against his side. The raven blinked, and allowed himself to drape an arm over her shoulders, careful of her wings, and closed his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

When the sun rose the next morning, Maleficent woke and stretched, wincing a bit at the slight pain that remained from the iron. Her shifting woke Diaval as well, who sat up and removed his arm from her shoulders, intent on re-examining the wound.

"Diaval...I'm fine. It's just a bit sore."

"Ah...forgive me. I just worry."

"So I've noticed." she said with a smile and a light chuckle, which caused the raven to blush.

Instead of moving away as he'd expected, the fairy simply reclined against his side again. He blinked and looked down at her, his mind a flurry of questions, none of which seemed able to reach his mouth. Just as he was about to speak, she cut him off.

"You've been my loyal companion for so long...and I...feel as though I should finally free you from my service."

"Wha...mistress...you want me to leave?"

"It's not that I /want/ you to leave, but that you deserve to be free."

"I...don't want to leave. I like it here, in the Moors."

Maleficent blinked and peered up at him in confusion, one eyebrow lifting as he continued.

"I've become accustomed to being with you, and I have no desire to change that now."

"Diaval..."

"Nope. I'm not leaving. You'd have to kill me to get rid of me."

"I would never harm you, birdie, you know that."

The man-bird smirked at her and took her hand in his, pressing a kiss to the back of it before relaxing against the tree and closing his eyes again.

"Then I guess you're stuck with me, hm?"

Just as she opened her mouth to speak, a rustle in the plants caught her attention and she turned her head towards it. A small troll stumbled out of the flowers and tripped over a fallen branch, landing right in her lap. Maleficent chuckled at seeing the thing's eyes covered in mud, and wiped it away with her finger. The little troll blinked up at her, and immediately scurried off her lap in fear.

"Now now, no need for that. When have I ever brought harm to any of my friends?"

When he wasn't sent flying by the fairy Queen's magic, the little creature came back over and sat down next to her, offering her a bright pink flower with a grunt and a smile. She took the small plant and smiled, patting the little creature on the head before he ran off again.

"It's nice..."

"Hm? What is?"

"To see you happy again, mistress. To see you not so consumed by hatred and revenge."

The fairy rolled her eyes again and stood up, flexing her wings, before peering down at him. He blinked and stood as well, following her as she started to wander through the trees. The two of them wandered for a couple hours, chatting idly at times, and enjoying the peaceful silence at others. Once they stopped to sit, the raven cleared his throat.

"Mistress..."

"Maleficent. I'm not your mistress anymore."

"Maleficent, then. I've been meaning to speak with you about something, if you don't mind."

"Of course, what is it?"

As he opened his mouth to speak, he was cut off by a cheery voice calling out their names, and chuckled instead.

"Looks as if it'll have to wait. Seems Aurora has decided to pay us another visit."

Once he had been transformed into his true self, he flew off to find the human Queen. Once he was gone, Maleficent reached down to remove the now dried-up plant from her side, smiling at seeing the angry wound reduced to a small scar. Soon after, Aurora and Diaval broke the tree-line, and she changed him back into a man.

"Godmother!"

"A bit early for a visit, isn't it beastie?"

"I heard what happened and had to come be sure you were alright!"

"How did you..."

"It was one of my father's soldiers...he came to us bragging about what he'd done...father beat him senseless and locked him away."

"Did he now?"

"Yes. He said that no-one was to threaten the peace between our kingdoms."

The fairy smiled and patted the ground next to her, Aurora coming to sit immediately, Diaval sitting down on her other side. She batted his hand away when he moved to check her wound, causing the blond girl to giggle. The raven looked away with a light blush, which caused Maleficent to chuckle as well, patting his shoulder.

"You're embarrassed far too easily, birdie."

He cleared his throat and stood again, moving to pick some berries near-by for the three of them. After nearly two hours, thunder sounded in the distance, and Aurora flinched.

"I guess that's my cue to get home. I'm glad to see you're alright. You're still coming to the ball tomorrow night, right?"

"Of course. I gave you my word, didn't I?"

The girl smiled and headed back to the castle, leaving the two of them alone again. The fairy stood and stretched her wings just as another crack of thunder was heard.

"Shall we head back to the tree?"

Diaval nodded and they started the walk back, the raven oddly excited about going to the fancy party at the castle the following night. Once back in the large nest in the tree, she used her magic to create a shield of branches and leaves to keep the rain out, and settled down to wait out the storm. Maleficent looked over at her friend and chuckled at seeing him try to keep some distance from her in the nest.

"It's alright. I happen to find you a quite comfortable pillow."

He chuckled and laid down next to her, the fairy quickly finding a comfortable position with her head resting on his shoulder, a wing stretched over both of them like a large blanket. It wasn't long before rain began to pour, soaking everything and everyone unfortunate enough to be caught in it. As the storm raged, the raven and fairy talked, asking questions and giving answers in return.

"I..."

"What is it, birdie? Something bothering you?"

"I just...I've become quite fond of you over the eighteen years I've served you...I think I love you...and I wanted you to know."

Lifting up on her elbow, Maleficent regarded him with silent curiosity, her bright green eyes studying his face.

"Diaval..."

"I know, I know...I just had to say something."

She simply stared down at him, not knowing what to say in return. The raven reached up and tucked a stray hair behind her ear, letting his hand rest on her cheek. The fairy didn't recoil, but didn't lean into his touch either, she simply continued to stare, a flurry of emotions warring for recognition in her chest.

"I...I need to...ah..."

Before he could protest, she got up and left, flying off into the rain. Diaval sighed and laid his hand over his eyes, muttering to himself how stupid he was. Out in the rain, Maleficent had landed and found a hollow tree to take shelter from the rain in, and give herself some privacy to sort out her thoughts. She sighed and snapped her wings against her back, flinging the water off of her feathers easily.

"Stupid bird...doesn't know what he's saying...that has to be it."

The fairy groaned and buried her face in her arms, shaking her head a bit as his words replayed again in her mind, her feathers bristling, and an unfamiliar feeling swelling up in her heart.

"Lady Maleficent?"

She blinked and lifted her face as the trio of pixies entered the small hollow with her, each looking apologetic for invading her space.

"Oh...Knotgrass, Flittle, Thistlebit...what are you three doing out in this rain?"

"We could ask the same of you."

"It's nothing you need concern yourselves with. Just foolishness...nothing more."

The pixies gave the larger woman a look that told her they knew better, and she sighed. With a bit of persuading, Maleficent told them of her conversation with her raven friend, and of the conflicting feelings rising in her heart.

"With all due respect, my lady, it sounds to us like you love him too. Don't be afraid! Tell him how you feel!"

The horned fairy simply snorted and crossed her arms, adjusting her position and gazing out the entrance of the hollow, fighting with herself not to agree with the tiny, annoying creatures. It was a couple hours until the storm blew over, and the entire time had been spent talking to the pixie trio, who proved to be more intelligent than they let on. When the rain stopped, they flew off, wishing their Queen luck in her coming conversation with the raven.

"Well...I suppose this is it then...foolish, that's what I am. Letting a silly bird capture what's left of my heart. Hrmph."

With that, she took to the sky, flying back towards her tree, and the man-bird that was within. When she landed, Diaval was nowhere in sight, and she sighed, laying back down within the soft leaves to wait for him. She didn't have to wait long, as he climbed back up the tree and into the nest minutes later.

"Oh! Mis...Maleficent...I was wondering when you'd come back."

"You must forgive me for flying off like that, birdie, I needed some space to think on a few things."

"Of course...how is your side?"

"It's fine. Diaval...did you mean what you said earlier?"

He cocked his head a bit, and when he realized what she was speaking of, he nodded and blushed.

"I did. I do. I love you, Maleficent...I think I have for a few years now..."

"Why..."

"What do you mean, why? I...can't explain why to you..."

Maleficent sat up and leaned her back against a sturdy branch behind her, fidgeting with a twig in her hands, doing anything she could to /avoid/ meeting his eyes.

"You must understand my hesitation. After all, the last man to say he loved me stole my wings."

Diaval moved closer, deftly taking the twig out of her hands before cupping her chin and lifting her eyes to his, no longer afraid of touching her without permission.

"I know. I would never harm you. I know I'm just a stupid bird, but...that doesn't change anything."

"I never said you were stupid, Diaval...I never would."

He smiled, moving his hand to rest on her cheek, gazing into her bright green eyes. With some hesitation on his part, the raven leaned forward and allowed himself to press a kiss to her forehead, causing the fairy to close her eyes and her wings to twitch a bit. When he pulled back, she opened her eyes and lifted her hand, allowing it to rest on the back of his neck, resting her forehead against his.

"You...are utterly foolish, birdie. You could do much better than an evil fairy like me."

"You're not evil. You were hurt, and afraid. The only man you had ever loved betrayed you. You had every right to be angry and bitter."

"You're...much smarter than you let on, Diaval." she chuckled.

The raven laughed and brushed his nose against hers, taking a deep breath of the fairy Queen's unique scent. Maleficent let her eyes close again as well, letting her heart get the better of her.

"May I kiss you?"

Her eyes shot open again and she laughed a bit, shaking her head.

"You're not supposed to ask /permission/, you silly bird..."

Instead of a response, the man-bird leaned forward the small distance it took, and allowed his lips to rest on hers. She stiffened a bit, the feathers on her wings standing on end at the feeling his kiss caused. After a few moments, he pulled back and opened his eyes, watching her expressions. Her eyes remained closed, a light blush staining her cheeks. It took the woman a few moments to gather herself, and open her eyes, but when she did, the raven saw a different side of her than he'd ever seen. Her eyes were soft, letting him see a glimpse of the vulnerability that lurked inside her.

"Maleficent..."

She stopped him with a finger on his lips, a small smile working its way onto her face.

"Sh. It's been a long time since someone kissed me..."

"I certainly hope it wasn't horrible."

"No...no it wasn't. It was...wonderful." she said with a light chuckle.

The raven grinned, satisfied with himself, before slipping his arms around her waist, under her magnificent wings, and pulling her close to him. Maleficent let her arms wind around his neck, resting her forehead against his shoulder.

"Aurora is going to have a field day with this, you know."

"Don't remind me, birdie."

He chuckled and laid down in the nest of leaves, pulling her with him. The fairy rested her head on his chest, letting a hand rest next to it, for once feeling safe with someone being so near her. She had no flashes of the past, no fear of losing her wings again, and no fear of being hurt. Her heart was light as it had been when she was young, and despite knowing her feelings for him, her mind still refused to let her say the words she swore she'd never use again. The sun began to set, casting a warm orange glow on the pair nestled together in the tree, and both of them soon fell into a peaceful slumber.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

When the sun rose over the Moors, Maleficent shifted and stretched before letting her eyes flutter open to rest on the form of the sleeping raven holding her close. A soft smile curled her lips, and she lifted herself up on an elbow before pressing a light kiss to his cheek.

"Mm...well, that's a pleasant way to wake up." he said with a smile of his own.

Her bright green eyes peered down at him, glittering in the early morning sun. The fairy sat up and stretched her wings out to their full span before gliding down to the ground. Diaval followed, though climbed down the tree, landing on his back after losing his footing on the wet bark. Stifling a laugh, she leaned over and looked down at him.

"You alright, birdie?"

"Just peachy." he said with a light groan.

After helping him up, she brought a hand to her chin in thought. After a few minutes, she focused her magic into her fingers, and placed her hand on his chest. Confusion showed plain as day in his eyes, and he lifted an eyebrow at her.

"I thought you would like the ability to change when /you/ want to, and not when I deem it time."

Realization dawned on him, and in the blink of an eye, he had transformed into his true self, and cawed happily, flying around her in quick circles. The fairy laughed and watched him until he landed on her shoulder, nuzzling his face against her cheek with a soft, content caw. He hopped onto her wrist when she held it up towards him, and she pressed a light kiss to the top of his head, before he flew up again and shifted back into a man.

"That was amazing! I can change into whatever I want?"

"Yes. Anything you want."

He grinned and rushed forward, picking the fairy up by the waist and spinning in a happy circle, causing her to chuckle and smile at him, resting her hands on his shoulders.

"Well...glad I could make you so happy."

"Of course I'm happy! Not just because of the gift you just gave me, either."

"Oh? Care to enlighten me then?"

"I'm happy you are allowing me to stay with you, of course."

She rolled her eyes and once she was on her feet again, took his hand and began their daily walk around the Moors. This time, however, one of the trolls came running up to her and tugged her dress urgently. Maleficent blinked and looked down, raising an eyebrow at the little creature. It simply turned and started to walk away, still clutching at her dress.

"I think it wants you to follow it."

"You think?"

She indeed followed the little troll, her eyes widening at the sight that greeted her when they reached where he was taking them. One of the trolls lay on the ground, bleeding heavily from a deep gash on his chest. The horned fairy moved over and knelt at his side, peering up at one of the flower fairy's floating near-by.

"What happened?"

"A hawk, my lady."

"Birds...present company excluded, of course." she said, sending a small smile to Diaval before scooping the small troll into her lap.

"Don't worry, little creature. You'll be fine."

Hovering her hands over the wound, Maleficent's eyes flashed and a stream of green magic began to surround the small creature, his wound slowly knitting together. The raven watched attentively, smiling at the compassion she showed to the inhabitants of the Moors. After a few minutes, the troll's wound had completely vanished, and she let her magic dissipate, only to receive a hug from the healed troll. She patted it on the head and smiled, letting him climb off her lap to re-join his family.

The flower fairies smiled at her, and floated off to continue doing whatever it was they were doing. Maleficent stood and dusted off her dress before looking over at her raven, who was wearing a gentle smile.

"What?"

"Just admiring how quickly you tend to the needs of your people."

"I would never wish anything bad upon one of my own."

He stepped forward and took her hand again, the two of them wandering off to find a place to relax before the ball at the human castle that evening. They spent the majority of the day wrapped in each others arms by the lake, even having a playful splash-fight at one point. When the sun began to set, Maleficent and Diaval flew to the castle and landed just outside the gates, much to the shock of the guards, who drew their weapons immediately.

"Well...that's a rude way to greet invited guests."

"That it is." Diaval said, producing the pair of invitations once he shifted into a man again.

Confused, the guards took the papers and reluctantly let them inside the castle. Almost as soon as they were inside, Aurora had them each wrapped in a hug.

"Godmother! Diaval! I'm glad you came!

"We gave you our word, did we not, beastie?"

When the Queen stepped back, Diaval stepped forward to stand beside Maleficent, his arm snaking its way around her waist. When the fairy didn't pull away, but instead leaned into his side, Aurora grinned happily.

"I'm glad you two finally figure out your feelings."

The fairy lifted an eyebrow, and looked up when an unwelcome voice called her name, seeing Stefan walking towards them slowly. Aurora winced at the look in her godmother's eyes.

"Please...don't cause a scene, godmother."

"I won't, dear, don't worry. I'm in no hurry to start another war."

She nodded, and turned to walk away, leaving the two of them to speak to her father as he approached. The raven tightened his grip on her waist, leveling a glare at the former king. She rested a hand on his shoulder, muttering something to him before the other man reached them.

"Maleficent...it's ah...good to see you."

"The castle is much nicer when you aren't fighting for your life, I must say."

"I want to apologize again. What I did to you was unforgivable."

"Yes, it was. Now, if you'll excuse us..."

"Wait! I...would you honor me with a dance?"

Her wings fluttered a bit, and her eyes narrowed, causing Diaval to step forward and block her from view.

"No, she won't, because she's dancing with me."

The fairy smirked at the raven's boldness, and simply turned to walk with him when he turned his back on Stefan.

"My hero." she chuckled, sarcasm lacing her voice.

He smiled down at her, turning to offer his hand as music started, echoing through the cavernous ballroom. She simply lifted an eyebrow and shook her head.

"Oh no. I told you, I don't dance."

"Ah, come now. That's what one does at a ball, is it not?"

"Diaval..."

He simply wrapped his arm tighter around her waist and pulled her close, one of her hands moving to his shoulder out of instinct. The raven took her other hand in his, and began to move slightly with the music.

"You have no idea what you're doing, do you, birdie?"

"More than you, I'm sure, my dear."

"Oh, I'm sure as well." she said with a light chuckle as they began to mimic the other couples around them.

Aurora and Phillip danced by them at one point, the blond Queen giving her godmother a brilliant smile, which was almost immediately returned. While she was distracted, Diaval leaned forward and let his lips rest on the fairy's neck, causing her feathers to ruffle slightly, and also causing her to shoot him a look. He grinned innocently, and before long, they had caught on to the human custom that was dancing.

"Excuse me...Lady Maleficent?"

The fairy blinked and turned her head towards the voice, only to find the young prince Phillip standing next to her with a smile on his face.

"May I?" he asked, extending a hand to her.

After a moment of shock that one of the humans would approach her so willingly and openly, she gave the young man a friendly smile.

"Of course."

The young prince simply beamed and attempted to lead the tall woman in a dance, while Diaval shared one with Aurora. Stefan watched from the corner, his arms crossed. After being spared by the horned fairy, and stripped of his kingship, his madness had seemed to lessen, and he had wanted nothing more than to mend his friendship with Maleficent. When she had shown up at the castle, he had hoped they could talk, and was quite miffed when the young raven had gotten in his way.

"I need to get her alone..."

When the current dance ended, Diaval laughed as he was begged by Aurora for a second, with Maleficent nodding with a smile as Phillip left her side to mingle with the other guests.

"Maleficent..."

She let out a sigh as she turned to face the man who, yet again, seemed intent on getting her attention. Her wings spread slightly in agitation, and she crossed her arms.

"What do you want, Stefan."

"I only wish to share a dance with you...your lover seems occupied..."

Shooting a glance over to Diaval and Aurora, the fairy sighed and finally relented.

"Fine. Once dance. That's it."

The former king smiled at her and extended his hand, which she took after a moment of hesitation.

"Touch my wings...I'll kill you."

"Wings are off limits, I understand."

The man proved to be a talented dancer, and Maleficent found herself momentarily impressed. That feeling left, however, when she remembered just /who/ she was dancing with.

"I know I keep apologizing, but...I want you to understand how sorry I really am. I never should have used you to gain power...I know how selfish it was. You trusted me, and I betrayed you."

"Yes...you did. You hurt me, Stefan. I thought you and I had something special together...but I was wrong. When you stole my wings, you stole the thing I held closest to my heart."

"I know...and I can't begin to make up for that. I want us to be friends again, if you think you could find it in your heart."

"I will maintain the peace...but I don't know if I can bring myself to trust you again. Something so selfish and evil is not easily forgotten."

He nodded and kissed the back of her hand as the dance ended, turning and walking away just as Diaval returned to her side, resting his hand on her waist. Noting the look in her eyes, he led her outside onto the large balcony overlooking the castle courtyard.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine...he's just...confusing me."

"How so?"

"Keeps apologizing...saying he wants to be friends. I don't know if I can trust him, Diaval."

The raven again wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, letting her rest her head against his chest, and he pressed a kiss to her hair near her horn. She sighed contentedly and closed her eyes, slipping her arms around him. When her eyes opened again, they focused on the moon that was peeking out through the clouds.

"Do you want to leave?"

"No...I promised the little beastie that we'd stay the entire night, and I plan on keeping my word to her."

"I won't leave your side the rest of the night, I promise."

"You don't have to protect me, birdie, I can handle myself."

"Well, I want to protect you." he said with a grin.

She rolled her eyes and leaned back from his chest, smiling up at him before he put a hand on her cheek and leaned down to kiss her. Unlike last time, when she'd been to shocked to respond, she let her hands move to his shoulders, and she kissed him back. The raven leaned back against the railing, pulling her as close to him as possible, only breaking their kiss when a soft giggle was heard from the doorway. Maleficent peered over out of the corner of her eye and groaned softly.

"Ah...hello beastie."

"Aw! You two are so cute together!"

A bright blush crept onto Diaval's face, and he cleared his throat while the fairy simply rolled her eyes and groaned again when she noticed a certain former king watching them from inside the ballroom. Aurora blinked and followed her line of sight, lifting an eyebrow when her father snorted and walked away, vanishing through one of the large doors.

"Um...that's not creepy or anything..."

"Oh no, not at all. I do believe he's a bit obsessed with you." Diaval said with a light chuckle.

"Godmother? Could I talk to you alone for a moment?"

Maleficent nodded and shooed Diaval inside, turning to lean with her back against the rail behind her. Aurora came over and leaned against it as well, with her forearms resting on the stone.

"Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no! Nothing at all! I was just wondering...the guards say I need a council...just in case another war were to break out..."

"What does that have to do with me, beastie?"

"I'd like you to be my council, godmother. You want to keep the peace around here just as much as I do."

Just as the fairy opened her mouth to speak, a commotion was heard inside. People were yelling at someone to stop something, and Aurora sighed and headed back inside, her godmother following. Inside, on the floor of the ballroom, laid Diaval, being kicked by two large men. Magic flared in her eyes, and with a flick of her wrist, the two were lifted off the ground. Both were wide-eyed at being suspended above the ground, and when their eyes landed on Maleficent, they narrowed.

"Put us down witch! You and your filthy animal aren't welcome among us!"

The woman's eyes hardened and she stalked forward, wings expanding and the feathers bristling.

"Give me one reason I shouldn't just throw you off that balcony, you vile creatures!"

"You'd be dead before you could blink, witch!"

When Aurora came up beside her and gently touched her arm, Maleficent grunted and lowered them to the ground again, a fair distance /away/ from her raven. With a wave of the blond Queen's hand, the guards had whisked them away and shoved them from the front gate of the castle. The fairy immediately turned and knelt down beside Diaval.

"Are you hurt?"

"No...I don't think so. Those two couldn't kick hard enough to hurt a chicken."

"Perhaps we should go..."

She took his arm and pulled him to his feet, not releasing him until she was certain he was un-injured. The young man shook his head and sent her a smile.

"I'm fine. We'll stay."

"If you're sure...if they come back...I'll hurt them."

He rolled his eyes, and in a few minutes, the ball was back in full swing, the fairy and the raven sitting off to the side for a bit. Prince Phillip emerged again later in the night, and led Aurora out onto the balcony. When her mind registered what was happening, Maleficent elbowed Diaval and nodded in their direction. When he saw the prince drop to one knee, and saw the look on the blond's face, he chuckled.

"What do you think she'll say?"

"If that grin is any indication, I believe she'll say yes."

As predicted, the young woman nodded enthusiastically when presented with the ring. Almost immediately, the young Prince was drug over to where they were sitting, Aurora excitedly telling the pair the news.

"Congratulations, you two."

"Thank you, godmother!" she said, enveloping the tall fairy in a hug.

Glancing outside, Maleficent smiled and stood, Diaval following her with a stretch.

"We have to get going, beastie. Be sure to come visit us soon, hm?"

When the young Queen nodded, the two of them stepped out onto the balcony of the castle, and Diaval transformed into his true self. The pair took to the skies, flying back towards the Moors. Once they arrived, the pair settled into their tree once Diaval had shifted back into a man.

"Well...tonight was fun, eh?"

"Mm...if you getting the shit kicked out of you is fun, then yes."

"I meant everything BEFORE that."

"Oh. Yes. It was surprisingly enjoyable."

He grinned and moved to sit next to her, the fairy shifting her wings to allow his arm to rest more comfortably around her shoulders. She looked up at him, and reached up to brush some hair out of his eyes.

"I swear...that hair of yours just won't stay put, will it?"

"I'm used to having feathers, not hair."

Maleficent rolled her eyes at him and settled with her head against his shoulder, his chin resting on top of her head. Diaval took a deep breath and pulled her as close as possible, closing his eyes. As they sat, he barely noticed his fingers combing through the feathers of her wings until she let out a low groan.

"You alright?"

"My wings are...ahem...sensitive."

His eyebrow lifted and he did it again, more deliberately this time, grinning when the wings twitched in response, and Maleficent's eyes drifted shut.

"Stop...it..."

"Why?"

"If you don't, I won't be held accountable for what I do to you."

Choosing to ignore her threat, he continued to comb through her feathers, at one point, his hand brushing against the area where they connected to her back. The moment she felt the touch, her eyes shot open and she took a deep breath, flinging a leg over him and pinning his arms.

"I said stop it, birdie..."

"Did...I hurt you?"

"NO." she nearly hissed, magic dancing in her eyes.

"If it doesn't hurt...why would I...ohhhhhh. I get it..."

The fairy huffed and folded her wings tight against her back, crossing her arms, not moving from her place sitting across his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist, looking up at her with a smile. The mock-annoyed look on her face slowly melted away, replaced with a gentle smile of her own.

"I love you, Maleficent."

"I..."

The words caught in her throat, refusing to be said aloud, and instead of replying, she leaned down and caught the raven in a gentle kiss. He returned the kiss, letting his hands rest on her waist. When they broke apart for air, she slipped off him again and settled down with her head in the crook of his shoulder.

"Goodnight, birdie."

"Goodnight."

**AN: Next chapter may have a bit of lemony goodness...not sure yet. Will all depend on how my muses decide to bug me ;) Reviews make me a happy wolf!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

**Please be gentle reviewing this chapter! I haven****'t written a lemon in forever, so forgive me if it's not too good.**

The sun striking her face caused Maleficent to shift and grumble something in her sleep, only moving when she realized she was alone. She sat up and stretched, blinking the sleep from her eyes.

"Hm...wonder where he went..."

With a shrug she spread her wings, and before long, was walking through the kingdom, watching the skies for Diaval. She passed by the trio of Knotgrass, Flittle and Thistlewit, and rolled her eyes as they flew by in a tangle.

"Do you three ever /not/ fight?"

"Oh! Lady Maleficent! We didn't see you!"

"Obviously. Have any of you seen Diaval? He was gone when I woke up."

"No, my lady, we haven't. Maybe he went to find food?"

The horned fairy nodded, and walked off, moving to sit on top of one of the highest cliffs in the Moors. The wind blew, carrying with it the sound of wings and cawing. A small smile curled her lips as she saw him circling down to the ground where he shifted into a man again.

"There you are, birdie."

"Hi. I...ah...hope I didn't wake you when I left, this morning."

"No, you didn't. Where did you fly off to, anyways?"

"Nowhere important."

She lifted an eyebrow and he gave her a sheepish smile before moving over to sit next to her. Maleficent shifted so he could join her, the raven settling on a rock a bit higher and behind her own. Diaval slipped an arm around her shoulders, holding a few colorful flowers in his hand.

"Well...now what's this..."

"I did get these for you, while I was gone."

"Ah...thank you."

The fairy took the offered flowers and leaned forward, placing them on the ground. A thin stream of golden magic wrapped around them and rooted them into the ground, standing up and growing a bit. She smiled and leaned back again, letting the man behind her pull her back against him.

"Beautiful."

"That they are."

"I meant you, but yes, the flowers are pretty too."

A light chuckle escaped her and she turned her head to look up at him, eyes sparkling in the early sun. A kiss was pressed to her temple, and she closed her eyes, letting herself relax in the warmth of the morning.

"It's so much nicer here now that there's peace...and no giant wall of thorns that the humans are intent on getting through."

The fairy nodded, not opening her eyes, only letting her sharp hearing focus on the sounds around her. A frown curled her lips as she picked up yelling just on the other side of the border. Noticing her muscles tense a bit, he blinked and peered down at her.

"What's wrong?"

"Can humans do nothing without yelling at one another?"

"Apparently not."

She grunted a bit and kept her hearing trained on the yelling, relaxing when they moved away from the border. Diaval squeezed her shoulders a bit and smiled.

"Why don't we go flying together?" he asked, lips against the tip of her ear.

"Hmm...alright. That sounds good, to me."

Maleficent stood and spread her wings, and once Diaval shifted into his raven form, they took to the skies together. With a chuckle, she kept her pace slow so he could keep up with her. Happy caws carried with the wind back the the Moors, causing the inhabitants that heard it to smile. Flittle, Knotgrass and Thistlewit all heard it, and smiled as well.

"It's so good to see her happy again!"

"The Moors were so dreary when she was angry!"

The little pixies flew off, laughing and playing games as they went, and nearly running into a tree in the process. After nearly two hours of flying happily through the clouds, the two landed near their tree, and Diaval shifted again. Before she could fold her wings against her back, a ball of mud came flying towards her, and smacked into the pristine brown feathers. The little creature that had thrown it froze, and his ears drooped. Maleficent simply flicked her wing forward, the mud flying back and smacking him right in the face.

"Nice shot."

She chuckled and glanced down at her wing with a sigh, before heading off to the lake to wash the remnants of mud from her feathers. Diaval climbed into the water before she could, and smiled. When she lifted her eyebrow, he gently reached out and pulled her wing into the lake, carefully washing the mud away.

"Diaval..."

"It's a shame to have such beautiful wings covered in mud."

A small smile curled her lips, and she slid off the rock into the lake as well, letting him finish washing the mud from her feathers. Her other wing folded against her back, and she stepped closer to him, resting her hand on his shoulder. Before long, her other wing was folded against her back as well, just as clean as could be, and the raven wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Thank you."

"Of course."

He smiled at her and pulled her as close as possible before leaning forward to rest his forehead against hers. The fairy took a deep breath and let her hands move up to the back of his neck.

"Is everything alright?"

"Perfect, actually."

Maleficent grinned to herself and within a few moments, had pushed Diaval under the surface of the water, and moved to hide just behind the waterfall. She bit her lip to stifle a chuckle when he spluttered to the surface again, looking around for her. He turned, dark eyes scanning the lake, and smirking when he caught the bottom of her dress peeking through the water. When she saw him moving towards her, she backed further into the cave behind the falls.

"I know you're back there..."

"Well then, perhaps you should come get me."

"Oh...I'll get ya alright..."

With that, he moved through the water towards the hidden cave, a smirk on his face. The fairy smirked a bit as well and turned, moving as far back into the cave as possible, simply leaning on the rock behind her. Diaval climbed up into the cave and moved further in, his sharp eyes watching for movement. When he finally saw her, a smirk bloomed on his face again, and he moved forward.

"Oh no. You found me."

"Indeed I have..."

The raven put his arm around her waist and pulled her close, immediately catching her in a kiss. A soft chuckle was heard as she let her arms drape over his shoulders, returning his kiss. Diaval grinned against her lips, and let his fingers brush her wings, causing the feathers to bristle a bit.

"Naughty birdie..."

He laughed a bit and moved back to look into her eyes, the bright green glittering playfully even in the dark cave. He allowed his hands to wander up her sides and back down, nuzzling his face into her neck. The fairy let her head tip to the side a bit, moving her own hands down to rest on his chest.

"I love you, Maleficent..."

Her only response was to press her lips to his cheek and let her wandering hands do what they wanted. He grunted softly and pulled back to let his eyes watch her hands, which seemed intent on removing his shirt. Finally, getting fed up with the fabric, she simply pulled the offending garment over his head with a smirk.

"Y`know...I coulda helped with that."

"Now...what's the fun in that?"

Maleficent grinned and dropped the soaked shirt on the floor of the cave before pushing him back against on of the rock walls. Diaval lifted an eyebrow, and allowed himself to be moved, though kept his hands on her waist. The fairy leaned forward and again pressed their lips together, the brown outer-robe of her dress falling to the floor soon after. The raven shifted their positions again, only to slip on the wet stone, and end up on the ground with her pinned under him. Her wings fluttered a bit as they fell, and she chuckled at him.

"Don't laugh at me..." he said with a blush tinting his cheeks.

"Aw...my embarrassed little birdie..."

Diaval grunted and simply pulled her into another kiss, slipping his arms around her waist. She chuckled into the kiss and let her hands wander his bare chest and back, tracing any of the scars she felt. The fairy felt her heartbeat speed up a bit when the raven started to gently pull her dress down off her shoulders, his lips following the material, and fought back the urge to stop him. As if sensing her hesitation, he sat up and gazed down into her bright green eyes.

"Are you...I mean...if you don't want..."

"Sh...I'll be fine. I promise."

Diaval nodded and let his lips go back to their previous task, as his hands pulled her dress from her body and folded it, laying it behind her head. His considerate actions made her smile, nipping lightly at his shoulder. The raven slipped his hands up from her waist, fingers barely brushing her skin, causing goosebumps to raise in their wake. She grunted and closed her eyes as his lips traveled over every inch of her exposed skin.

"Diaval..."

Hearing his name, and not the affectionate nickname of `birdie`, he looked up at her and smiled. Maleficent ran her hand through his mess of hair and feathers, returning his smile and pulling him up to kiss him, hands working to push his pants from his hips. While the fairy was distracted trying to remove his pants, Diaval slipped a hand down her body to slip between her legs, causing her hands to freeze on his waist-band. Trying to ease her nerves, he pressed his lips to her neck and mumbled in her ear, brushing the fingers of his free hand through the feathers of her wings.

"I'm fine..."

He nodded, his hand that was between them gently probing and stroking her. A short `ha` of triumph was heard as she succeeded in pushing his pants past his waist, hooking the tip of her wing in the band and pushing them the rest of the way down. The raven kicked them off his feet to land carelessly in the corner of their little cave before letting one of his fingers slip into her after a bit of hesitation. A soft groan escaped her throat and she threaded her fingers through his hair, gripping gently and nibbling on his ear, her other hand ghosting down his back. Letting the hand stroking her feathers move, he brushed his fingers over her breasts, lips again following.

"For someone who's only had human urges for a short time...you certainly seem to know what you're doing..." she said with a breathless little laugh, a bit surprised she could speak at all.

A self-satisfied little grin curled his lips at the tone of her voice before he let his lips close over her left nipple, teasing with his tongue. Another soft moan escaped her and her eyes clenched shut, wings flexing a bit under her. Diaval faltered a bit in his exploration when he felt a hand curl around his erection, stroking experimentally. As her hand continued it's gentle movements, a low groan escaped his lips that were moving further down her body, until he was out of her reach. Maleficent forced her eyes to open a bit, slits of emerald green peering down at him.

Sensing her eyes on him, he looked up at her through the hair hanging over them. Her eyes snapped shut when his lips descended on her, his tongue quickly replacing his probing finger. The raven rested his hands on her hips and focused his attention on her. The fairy groaned, and once again, her hands found their way into his hair, her wings spreading out, feathers standing on end. Once she felt her body begin to tense slightly, she pulled him back up to her and kissed him. Diaval grunted and shifted slightly to align himself properly, but stopped short.

"Are you certain about this?"

"Do you think you could really stop if I said no?"

"Of course I would."

"Diaval...I'm sure. I wouldn't have let you get this far if I wasn't."

The raven nodded and, after a few more moments of hesitation, shifted forward and let himself slide into her. A quick yelp of pain escaped her and she stiffened, tightening her arms around his neck. He nuzzled his face into her neck, holding still until she gave him permission to move. After what seemed like forever, Maleficent shifted her hips a bit and nudged his head.

"Keep going..."

"If you need me to stop...tell me."

"You worry too much, birdie. I'll be fine."

He nodded into her neck and lifted up, gazing down into her eyes as he shifted, putting his weight onto his arms, pulling out of her slightly before pushing back in. The fairy felt her eyes flutter closed and she pressed her head back into the pillow of her dress. He nipped lightly at the tip of her pointed ear, keeping up a slow and gentle pace. She rested her hand on the base of his neck, turning her head to catch his lips with hers, shifting a bit to allow her wings more room to expand. Diaval deepened their kiss, slipping his tongue into the horned fairy's mouth, her own meeting it with enthusiasm. It wasn't long until her legs wrapped themselves around his waist, nails digging into the raven's back.

"You won't break me, Diaval..." she whispered in his ear, voice hardly above a sigh.

He groaned and nodded, speeding up and putting more strength into the movement of his hips, fingers threading into the feathers spread out under her. Her fingers, in return, dug harder into his back and shoulders, and her heels dug into his lower back. Maleficent groaned and bit down on his shoulder, trying to stifle the loud noise that threatened to escape her lips. The raven shifted his weight a bit to gain more leverage, and again increased the strength of his thrusts, groaning into her neck. Her wings fluttered, expanding as much as they could within the small cave, her head falling back against the floor, eyes clenched shut.

"You...feel fantastic..." he groaned into her ear, coaxing a small chuckle from the fairy.

"Ah...thank you?"

He chuckled a bit as well before grunting and putting all his weight into his movements, feeling a tightness beginning to form inside him. If possible, her legs tightened around his waist, and she pressed her head further back into the ground, her horns leaving scratch-marks on the stone. It wasn't long until Maleficent stiffened, her wings wrapping tightly around them, the raven's name escaping her lips as a low sigh. When he felt her reach her release, Diaval's body immediately responded by reaching his own, her name escaping him as well. Completely exhausted, he collapsed onto her, resting his head on the fairy's chest, her fingers combing through his hair.

"That...was..."

"Mm..."

Neither of them made a move to right themselves, or re-dress, completely content to lie in each others arms, hidden by the cloak of her wings, and the cascading waterfall. Eventually the two of them re-dressed and exited the cave, Maleficent stretching her wings to their full span. Peering up at the sky, a smirk wound onto her lips at seeing that the sky had darkened while they had made love behind the waterfall. Once they retired to their nest, the fairy rested her head on her lover's chest and fell asleep in moments, mumbling something just as she nodded off that sounded remarkably like `I love you`.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

The night passed without incident, Maleficent curled up next to her raven's warm form in their tree, and when the sun rose she woke with a small yawn. The fairy lifted up on her elbow and looked down at him, gently brushing her fingers through his mess of hair and feathers. Diaval grunted and opened his eyes, blinking sleepily up at her before a smile curled his lips.

"Good morning, birdie."

"It sure is."

The fairy rolled her eyes and leaned down, giving the raven a gentle kiss before sitting up again, stretching. He sat up as well, only to recline back against the bark behind him, content to stay right where he was until they had to move. Maleficent looked over and nodded as she saw Balthazar amble by, running his daily patrol around the border of the Moors. Diaval yawned and stretched his arms, shifting into his true self and cawing softly to get her attention. A chuckle escaped her and she nodded, reaching out to stroke his feathers.

"Be careful."

Another soft caw and affectionate nip of her fingers was his response as he took to the sky, flying towards Aurora's castle. Deciding that lounging in the tree was much less comfortable without him, she flew up through the clouds, closing her eyes against the wind. The woman busied herself flying through the Moors, healing trees and plants as needed, and finally landed to spend some time with the trio of pixie sisters.

"Lady Maleficent! It's so good to see you happy again! You're not so scary when you're happy."

"I can always be scary again if you'd prefer."

"Oh no! No no! Please, be happy!"

The horned fairy laughed and leaned back against the tree behind her, enjoying the sun on her face.

"Where's Diaval today, my lady?"

"He went to visit Aurora for a bit."

The three small pixies nodded, and before long were in one of their normal arguments, the sounds only broken by a loud, pained caw. Maleficent immediately turned her gaze to the sky, only to have a raven crash into her chest. She wrapped her arms around the bird and looked down at him with wide eyes.

"Diaval? What..."

Her eyes narrowed when she caught sight of his left wing, which seemed to be injured. Placing him in her lap, she gently gripped his wing and extended it, running her fingers along the bone and wincing when he cawed in pain. Her magic flared a bit when she felt a grating sensation when she touched a part of the bone. He nipped at her hand on instinct, cawing apologetically when he drew blood from her finger.

"Shh...it's alright, birdie."

Maleficent let some of her magic flow into his damaged wing, wincing when she heard the bone re-align itself to heal properly. Without waiting for him to change, she waved her hand and changed him herself.

"What happened?"

"The guards at the castle /really/ don't like ravens, apparently."

"You won't be flying for a few days, and you certainly won't be going back there on your own."

Diaval reached out and took her hand, kissing the small cut he'd caused with his beak. She rolled her eyes and ruffled his hair with a small smile, making the feathers there stand out at odd angles. He laid down with his head in her lap, enjoying the feeling of her fingers in his hair, and the light weight of her other hand on his chest. The pixies had stopped fighting when the raven had returned, and were now simply smiling fondly at the pair.

"You two look wonderful together, my lady."

Maleficent looked up at the pixie sisters and smirked a bit before turning her eyes back down to her raven, who was lying contentedly in her lap. The three sisters landed in the grass and relaxed in the warm sun as well, and soon, all manner of Moorland creatures had joined them, no longer fearful of the horned fairy's wrath. Even Balthazar, the tree-creature and border guard had sat down and joined them, though kept his sight trained on the border between kingdoms.

"Is something wrong, Balthazar?"

He growled and shook his head, causing the fairy to smile and lean back against the tree behind her again, continuing to comb her fingers gently through Diaval's hair. A loud yell caught her attention, and her hand stopped moving, eyes narrowing. The large tree guardian stood, and nodded to her before heading off to check the source of the yelling and screaming. The raven opened his eyes and looked up at her.

"I'm sure it's nothing, birdie. If it is, I'm sure Balthazar can handle it."

The sound of a large structure falling, and an accompanying growl, suddenly echoed through the Moors, causing Maleficent's feather's to stand on end.

"Balthazar! Stay here, Diaval..."

With that, and without waiting for his response, she took to the sky to aid her guard. The moment she broke the tree-line, arrows and spears flew towards her. She flapped her wings hard, sending a gust of wind towards the small group before her, only to let out a yell of pain as one of the men scored a hit to her back with an arrow. The men on the ground grabbed the chain attached and yanked, pulling the horned fairy to the ground.

She reached around and attempted to remove the arrow, only to have another fly towards her, which she dodged with a groan as the iron from the one embedded in her skin started to burn. The pixies had followed their Queen to the border, and were watching from the safety of the tree-line. Balthazar was trying to break free of the chain holding his legs together so he could get to her and help, only to growl in anger when another arrow pierced the fairy's shoulder. Diaval stumbled through the trees towards the yells and pained screams of his lover, he'd tried to fly, but his injured wing refused.

"Maleficent!"

His yell only served to distract her, and when she turned her head towards the tree-line, the men threw an iron net, much like the one from the final fight at Stefan's castle, over her. When she went down, they charged her, binding her wings with both chain and strips of leather, quickly securing it to the shackles they locked around her feet and wrists. The fairy tried to free her wings by extending them, but the iron in her blood-stream had already weakened her substantially, and instead, she collapsed to the ground. Casting her eyes to the tree-line, and seeing her raven break it as she was hauled into the back of a cart, is the last thing she remembered.

"Diaval..."

"No...No! Maleficent!"

The raven tried to rush forward, to get to her, but was met with dust as the horse-drawn cart took off. In the cart, Maleficent even tried shifting enough to fall off the back, but the combined efforts of all the iron caused her to pass out soon after.

**AN: Short chapter I know, but I didn't want it to drag on too long, and the next chapter will probably be quite a bit longer anyways, if my muse works the way I want it to! Review make me a happy wolf!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

The fairy was awakened by a bucket of ice-cold water being thrown into her face. She coughed, and when her eyes opened, she tried to spread her wings, only to be reminded of what had happened. Her eyes narrowed and she glared at her apparent captors.

"Who are you...what do you want with me?"

"We're the ones who've brought you as a gift to our king! He always did want to rule that kingdom next to yours."

She let out a sound akin to a growl and moved to charge forward, only to be held down by the iron shackles around her wrists.

"Release me! If you don't, you'll have a war that you can't win..."

The men simply laughed and shook their heads, turning to walk out of the dungeon, presumably to retrieve their king. Sitting on the filthy bench in the room, Maleficent turned her eyes to the sky outside, wincing at the raw arrow wound in her back, and peering back at her wings, still bound and unable to spread. Shifting a bit, the fairy managed to tear the bottom of her dress and tuck the fabric between the metal and her wrists, lessening the burn of the iron.

"I have to get out of here..."

Just as she finished her musing, the door opened wide, and an older man with jet black hair and a filthy-looking beard entered the room, flanked by two guards.

"Ahh...so this is the infamous Maleficent of the Moors, eh? She doesn't look so tough..."

He waved his hand to the guards, and the door was pulled shut, the little panel in the top slid closed as well. The man approached her and reached out to lay his hand on her face, to which she immediately pulled her head away. With a smirk, he reached out and gripped one of her horns, pulling her head forward again, ignoring the grimace on her face.

"Give me what I want, and I'll let you go."

"What...is it you want?"

"Information. How to take over the kingdom that borders the Moors."

"No. Do what you like, human, but I will never betray the trust their Queen has in me."

"Mm...we'll see how long that loyalty lasts, fairy. You, will be a fun one to break. Let's see how long you can stay loyal with lack of food."

She glared, her eyes flashing dangerously as the supposed King left the room, motioning for one of his guards to stay. The door was closed, and the guard remaining smirked, moving over to place a tray of food just out of her reach before leaving as well. A loud yell was heard from the dungeon as the horned fairy collapsed back against the wall behind her, re-adjusting the fabric between her shackles and skin.

Maleficent was left to her thoughts for nearly two days, until the king and his guards returned. She didn't even look over at them when they entered, only kept her eyes trained on the world outside, trying to recognize any landmarks that might give her a clue to where she was.

"Mm...so apparently the promise of fresh food isn't going to work on you."

Instead of responding, she turned her head and looked at the three in the room with her, a hard glare fixed on her face.

"Well now...is that any way to treat your landlord?"

"You, are nothing to me, human. My friends will come for me, and when they do...you'll be sorry you ever set foot near the Moors."

The King moved forward and pinned her to the wall with a hand around her neck, the other tangled in her hair. A light gasp escaped her before she could stop it and she glared even more.

"You will treat me with respect, witch. I can have you killed at any time. You're simply lucky I need you alive to get what I need from you. Tell me what I need to know!"

Her response was to reach up and scratch the shit out of his cheek with her nails, baring her teeth in a nearly feral gesture, getting immense satisfaction out of seeing three trails of blood running down his face. He stepped back, and raised a hand to his cheek, before bringing his hand across her face in a vicious slap.

"You'll break. Believe me." he said with a wicked grin before leaving the room again.

She winced once he was gone, again turning her eyes to the sky outside, only to blink when a raven landed on the barred window. She stood and moved as close as possible, as if not believing her eyes.

"Is it...Diaval?"

A soft caw was her response as the raven suddenly shifted into a mouse, climbing through the bars and onto the floor where he indeed shifted into a man. His hands were immediately on her face, lips against her forehead as he gathered her into his arms.

"How...how did you find me?"

"Those idiots aren't very good at covering their tracks. We have to get you out of here."

"I...shit, Diaval you have to leave..."

"What?! I'm not leaving you here!"

"Listen to me...I need you to get home and get help. You can't save me alone, and I'm too weak to help you...I'll be alright..."

"Maleficent..."  
>"Go, before they come back and see you."<p>

He nodded, again gathering her in his arms and pressing his lips to hers in a passionate kiss before again shifting into a mouse and climbing back out the window, where he changed into his raven self and flew back towards the Moors. She stared after him, and when he was nothing but a black dot in the sky, she sat back and sighed. The fairy was left in silence again for another two or three days, before three men entered, setting a bucket of water in one corner of the room. Two of them approached her, unlocking her shackles, and quickly binding her arms behind her with more chain, dragging her over to the bucket.

"Now...you're going to tell us what we want to know."

"I will tell you nothing."

"Oh, yes you will."

The man behind her gripped her horns, pushing her head down into the water. The fairy struggled, longing to use her wings to toss her attackers off. The men finally pulled her head back up, letting her take a deep breath of air.

"Tell us!"

"No."

The guards growled, and again submerged her head in the ice-cold water, Maleficent struggling again to free herself. They kept her submerged longer this time, barely giving her time to get a breath when they let her up before they submerged her again. After nearly an hour of this, they shoved her back onto the stone cot and left, leaving the overturned bucket in the room. The fairy laid on the stone, gasping for air and shivering from the cold water. Outside the door, the guards shook their heads at the King, who grumbled and punched the wall.

"I want the information out of that bitch, even if you have to leave her at death's door to get it!"

"Yes, sire."

In the tiny cell, she winced when she again tried to break the binds holding her wings against her back, letting out a strangled cry as she failed yet again. A tear slipped down her cheek and she collapsed back into the corner behind her. Over the next two months, the fairy was visited daily, subjected to new forms of torture, and on several occasions, the guards were ordered to have their way with her, all for want of information. She simply laid on the stone cot, freezing, waiting for what was next. The door opened, and the King entered the room, carrying a large iron knife with him. Maleficent barely moved, save her eyes, to look over at him, not gracing him with words, as always.

"Last chance, witch. Tell me what I want to know, or those gorgeous wings and horns of yours will be trophies on my wall, while your corpse rots in this cell."

"I...will not...tell you anything...you filthy human."

"Loyal til the end, eh? Very well...GUARDS! Hold her!"

She struggled against the two that came forward and grabbed her, forcing her to her knees in front of the King, who stepped forward with his knife, pressing it against the base of one of her horns.

"This will probably hurt, A LOT."

Just as he moved to start the sawing motion that would be required to remove the horn, a tree crashed through the wall, sending them all flying into the opposite one. Through the hole stepped a small army made up of both humans and the Moorland creatures. Maleficent looked up, and her eyes shimmered when a familiar raven flew through the hole, clawing at the men with his talons before shifting into a wolf. Suddenly, the fairy found herself lifted, and as her vision cleared, the face of who was carrying her came into view.

"Balthazar..."

The tree guardian simply growled, lowering her to the ground and quickly releasing her from the chains. When he succeeded and her wings burst free, stretching to their full span, and she found herself in the air immediately. Her vision blurred a bit at the stiffness in her wings after having them stuck in the same position for months, but before she took a nose-dive into the dirt below her, she made out the forms of dozens of humans, fighting to free her. The sound of yelling from the castle caught her attention, and she saw Diaval charge from the hole in the wall before she passed out again, falling from the sky. The next thing she heard, was her raven's voice begging her to wake up, and when she felt a cold wetness on her face, she bolted awake and sat up, trying to scramble away from whoever was next to her.

"Maleficent! It's me! Diaval!"

"Wha...where am I..."

"You're at Aurora's castle. It's alright...you're safe now..."

Maleficent let her eyes wander around the room, as if refusing to believe she wasn't still in the enemy's dungeon. Diaval reached out to take her hand, giving it a loving squeeze.

"You're safe, love..."

"How long..."

"You've been sleeping for two weeks...they nearly killed you. If we'd gotten there any later...I would've lost you." he said, voice breaking a bit.

Just as the fairy opened her mouth to respond, the door opened, and Aurora entered, one of the servants entering behind her with a tray of food. The blond immediately had her wrapped in a tearful hug, explaining how the raven had flown back to the castle to enlist help. As they talked, the man stepped forward and placed the food on the bed-side table before giving a low bow to Aurora, before turning to look at her. He nodded to her and left the room, leaving her, Diaval and Aurora alone to talk. The raven again reached over and took her hand, resting his elbows on the bed, and letting his forehead lean against hers. She closed her eyes and smiled slightly, brushing her nose against his, only looking over when the blond Queen took her other hand.

"I'm so glad you're back, godmother. We were all so worried about you. I...ah, I'll leave you two alone for now." she said, getting up and exiting the room with a smile.

Once she was gone, Diaval leaned forward again and caught her in a gentle kiss. The fairy sighed and lifted her hand, resting it on the back of his neck, letting her eyes slip shut again. When he pulled away, Maleficent winced at the stiffness that seemed to run through her entire body, causing the raven to gently lay her back against the pillows.

"Rest."

"I need to get up..."

"You can't...not yet..."

"Why not." she nearly hissed, moving to swing her legs out of the bed, only to find she couldn't move them well enough.

"Because...your legs are injured. Good god what did they do to you?"

A wry smile curled her lips and she looked over at him, squeezing his hand that still held hers.

"What /didn't/ they do would be easier for me to answer."

He winced to himself and leaned forward, laying his forehead on the mattress of the bed. She reached out and laid her hand on the back of his head, stroking his hair slowly.

"Don't, birdie."  
>"Don't...what..."<p>

"Blame yourself. This wasn't your fault."

"I should have /forced/ myself to fly! If I had...I could have stopped them from taking you! All I did was watch, like a coward, while you were carted away from us!"

"Diaval..."

The raven climbed up onto the large bed next to her, pulling her against his side and wrapping his arms tight around her. The fairy shook her head slightly, before maneuvering herself to lie with her head in his lap. He gazed down at her, running his fingers through her hair and smiling a bit. Despite the fact that she'd apparently been sleeping for two weeks already, Maleficent felt herself begin to drift off to sleep, feeling safe in the castle, and in Diaval's arms.

The next time she woke, she was alone in the room, save for the trio of pixies who had showed up earlier in the morning, and completely naked. She shifted, sitting up and looking down at them as they examined the extent of her injuries.

"Oh! Lady Maleficent! You're awake!"

"Could someone explain to me where my clothes are?"

"We had to have them removed so we cold get to your wounds. We've managed to heal most of the smaller ones...but...your legs are proving quite a challenge."

For the first time since waking, the fairy allowed herself to peer down at her own body, seeing the bruises from broken ribs that were now mostly healed, and a few lingering scars from the iron knives. A wince worked its way onto her face as she tried to move her legs, and she immediately guessed they were broken. Suddenly feeling a pain that she hadn't before, she reached up and ran her fingers over her left horn, feeling a notch in the base where the enemy King had tried to remove it with his knife. She suddenly spread her wings, checking every inch of them to make sure they weren't hurt as well, letting out a breath when they seemed relatively unscathed.

"How long have you three been here?"

"We've been healing your injuries for hours..."

"You look exhausted...stop, and rest."

When the three of them started to protest, she leveled them with a look that sent them fluttering out the door to get a few hours of sleep. When he saw them exit, Diaval, who'd been just outside, entered the room again. The fairy had just pulled her dress back on, and was gazing down at her legs again, resting her hands on them with a sigh.

"I told them not to wear themselves out..."

"And when do those three ever listen to anyone, birdie?"

He chuckled slightly and sat down next to her on the bed, reaching over to lay a hand on hers.

"I wish there was something I could do...I hate seeing you like this."

"Actually...there may be."

He perked up and looked over at her, taking mental notes of the things she told him to gather, before taking off in his raven form to get them from the Moors. The fairy smiled at his excited caw as he took off, only to look over when Aurora entered the room, sitting next to her with a smile.

"Good morning, godmother. How do you feel?"

"Not too horrible. I hate being confined to one place like this, however. I've sent Diaval to the Moors to retrieve some things for me."

"Is there anything we can do to make you more comfortable?"

"No, beastie, but thank you."

The Queen nodded and re-situated herself on the bed next to the fairy, the two of them chatting idly as they waited for the raven to return. After about an hour, the bird in question flew back through the window, carrying a basket in his talons, which he sat in Maleficent's lap before shifting back.

"Good work. Now...just do what I tell you and /hopefully/ it'll work, and I'll be out of this bed in the morning."

He nodded, taking the basket and laying the ingredients out on the large table in the room. Maleficent gave him step-by-step instructions on how to mix them together, watching as best she could from her spot.

"Ugh...whatever this is...it stinks."

"Yeah, well...I never said it would smell good. I'm sure it's not going to taste very good either."

Diaval turned and brought the bowl over to her, scrunching his nose at the smell. The fairy took it, and did the exact same thing, before steeling herself for the taste and downing the contents.

"Bleh! That was horrible! Now...I'm going to fall asleep...and hopefully when I wake up in the morning, my legs will be healed."

He nodded and took the bowl from her, setting it aside, and watching as she indeed slowly succumbed to sleep. The moment she was sleeping, a bright gold magic wound its way around her lower body, completely obscuring it from sight. The raven smiled slightly and leaned over, kissing her forehead before settling into a chair for the rest of the day and night..

"Goodnight."

The majority of the day was spent sitting and talking to Aurora, the blond just as worried about the horned fairy as he was. The sun began to set outside, and the girl yawned, hiding it behind her hand.

"You should get some sleep, Aurora."

"I want to be here when she wakes up in the morning..."

Diaval smiled and shook his head, watching as she curled up in the bed next to Maleficent, not wanting to be far from her godmother. The raven yawned a bit as well, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes.

**AN: I was going to make this chapter MUCH longer, but I couldn't bring myself to write out torture and rape scenes like I'd planned, so this is what you get! Reviews make me a happy wolf!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

When the sun rose in the morning, Diaval and Aurora remained sound asleep, sun blocked out by the wings covering the window. The rustling of feathers however, did wake the raven, and when he saw Maleficent /standing/ near the window, wings fully extended, he grinned and stood.

"You're up."

"Thank goodness. Any longer in that bed and I was going to go crazy."

Standing, Diaval walked over and stood next to her, gazing out the window at the landscape below them. He reached over and took her hand, lifting it and kissing the back of it with a smile, coaxing a small smile to her lips as well.

"What now? I'm sure the men who took you will see us rescuing you an act of war..."

"If they attack...then we fight. I had hoped the peace would last longer than this."

Seeing the fleeting look of sadness pass through her eyes, he stepped over and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against him with a sigh. Giving in, she let her wings drop, resting her forehead against his shoulder.

"Perhaps it would have been better if you hadn't shown up."

"Don't."

A near growl escaped the raven, and he curled his fingers under her chin, forcing her to look up at him.

"Don't you dare say that. The Moors would be lost without you, not to mention Aurora and myself."

She sighed and closed her eyes, leaning her forehead against his with a small smile. Hearing the soft conversation and rustling of clothes, Aurora blinked herself awake, and got up when she saw them by the window.

"Godmother, you're up!"

"Morning, beastie."

A hug greeted her, and the three of them made their way downstairs to the courtyard, where they relaxed in the sun before the fairy and the raven headed back to the Moors. Feeling the air rushing through her wings again without feeling as if she would fall from the sky any moment, caused her to let out a happy laugh. Diaval cawed happily from beside her, flying close to let his wings brush against hers, with Maleficent turning her head to smile at him. It wasn't long before they'd landed near their tree, sitting down at the base and curling together.

"I love you."

"I know, birdie."

He pressed his lips to her temple and closed his eyes, letting the sounds of the Moors relax him. Not long after they sat, the lumbering tree guardian Balthazar came through the clearing, stopping to gaze down at her.

"I'm fine, Balthazar. Thank you."

He nodded his head, a low, soft growl escaping him as he walked by, happy to see his friend back in her rightful place. Diaval chuckled and looked down at her.

"Your people certainly love you."

The fairy smiled, absently reaching up to feel the notch in her horn, anger bubbling up inside her again. The raven pulled her hand back down, giving it a gentle squeeze before turning his eyes to the injury he'd missed. The indentation was barely noticeable, but his sharp eyes let him see it as easily as if the horn had been removed completely. A small group of flower fairies fluttered by the pair, greeting them as they passed by, one dropping a small, colorful flower in her lap. She smiled and laid the flower on the ground, using her magic to cause it to take root and grow.

"This tree is going to be the most brightly decorated thing in the Moors before long."

Diaval chuckled and re-adjusted himself against the tree, gently running his fingers through her feathers, plucking dirt and any other foreign objects from them. Maleficent shifted and laid her head in his lap, stretching her wings slightly to give him better access. After about ten minutes of clearing twigs and dirt from her wings, his fingers moved to her hair, pulling it back away from her face. She shifted a bit again, laying one of her hands on his leg next to her head. The fairy drifted off, wings moving to wrap around herself. The raven gently moved out from under her, letting her head rest on the ground, before he shifted into his true self and flew off.

The fairy didn't wake, simply muttered to herself and curled up into a ball. Diaval flew through the sky, his sharp eyes watching the ground beneath him for any signs of an advancing army, and continued his flight back towards the kingdom that had kidnapped Maleficent months before. Back in the Moors, the fairy found herself caught in a vivid nightmare, which she woke from with a strangled yell. She sat upright and her wings immediately responded to her discomfort by wrapping around her like a feathered cocoon. When she realized she was alone, her eyes began to search the surrounding area.

"Diaval?"

With some considerable effort, Maleficent rose to her feet, looking around to see if she could find the raven anywhere near-by, and when she didn't see him she started to walk towards the lake where they liked to relax. An odd soreness had settled in her body as she'd slept after being rescued, a soreness she didn't mention to anyone, and by the time she reached the lake, she groaned and collapsed to her knees. After re-adjusting herself so her legs were curled up underneath her, the fairy allowed herself to let a few tears fall. The Moorland people watched her from a distance, each feeling that she needed to be alone for the moment, though each feeling the desire to make sure their friend was alright. Hours passed, and when Diaval didn't return, a worried frown wound onto her lips.

"Where is he..."

The raven in question had flown to the castle of the enemy King, and perched carefully, out of sight, on a window. He listened intently as the men within argued about the possibility of staging an attack on the Moors and it's neighboring kingdom. Anger bristled his feathers, and he shifted on the windowsill before flying off again. After his departure, a mysterious fire started in the building that housed the majority of the castle's food and weapons, no one seeing the raven flying away from it. As the sun set over the land, Maleficent turned her eyes to the sky, having not moved from her spot next to the water, letting the splashing of the waterfall relax her again.

"I'll look for him in the morning if he's not back."

The fairy yawned lightly, refusing to fall asleep again, lest the nightmare from before return. Every time her eyes would fall shut, she forced herself awake again, finally getting up to take a walk. Near midnight, a familiar caw was heard on the wind as Diaval returned, landing on the ground and shifting back into his human self.

"You're still awake?"

Maleficent jumped, wings flapping a bit in surprise at the voice that had startled her out of her thoughts.

"Diaval! Where have you been?"

"I went to do a little spying on my own. The men that took you...their King is planning an attack...course...it'll be delayed now since they have no food or weapons to speak of."

"What? What did you do, birdie?"

"Set fire to their food stores and armory."

"Are you insane?! You could have been killed, you stupid creature!"

"Hey...what's wrong with you?"

"Me? What's wrong with ME? You're the one who just risked your life to start a few fires!"

"To protect you and our kingdoms!"

"I don't need you to protect me, damn it!"

"Says the woman who was captured by four humans!"

The moment the words left his lips, Diaval froze, knowing he may have very well gone too far. The fairy's wings stiffened, muscles tense, and she turned to face him, her eyes hard. He faltered a bit under the stare, peering down at the ground, heart hammering in his chest.

"Leave."

The raven's eyes lifted and locked on the retreating form of the horned fairy.

"Wha...Maleficent wait, I'm sorry!"

"I said LEAVE, Diaval."

Un-able to tear his eyes away from her as she walked away, he opened his mouth to protest, only to find his voice gone as he was transformed against his will into a bird again. He gave a loud, desperate caw and fluttered around her head, trying to get her attention.

"Leave me be, you insufferable little creature!"

Feeling his heart drop into his stomach, he gave a soft, heart-broken caw before flying away. Almost as soon as she felt he was gone, Maleficent collapsed to the ground, a sharp pain making itself known within her body. Her wings curled around her body, and the skies above her opened up as rain began to fall, thunder rumbling the sky and lightning flashing in the distance. The fairy pressed her forehead into a near-by tree, resting her hands on the bark, and allowing her sobs to finally escape into the unyielding wood. Once she had calmed down, she stood on shaky legs and moved back to her tree, but couldn't bring herself to fly up to the nest. The fairy simply laid down in the grass, resting her head on her arms and staring blankly at the waterfall in front of her.

When the sun came up the next morning, Maleficent made no effort to move, the internal wounds caused during her imprisonment making walking near impossible for the fairy. She let out a sigh and sat up, wincing before leaning back against the tree, letting her wings stay wrapped around her, the warmth and softness of the feathers comforting her and calming her mind. Forcing herself to stand, she started walking towards Aurora's castle, suddenly feeling the need to talk to the blond Queen. It wasn't long before she'd given in to the pain walking caused, and flew the rest of the way, landing on the balcony of the girl's window, knocking softly. Aurora blinked, having just entered her room, and moved over to open the window.

"Godmother?"

"Do you have a moment to talk, beastie?"

"Of course. Come in, sit. What's wrong?"

Maleficent entered the room and closed the window behind her, the temperature growing colder with the approaching winter, and sat down on the edge of the bed. With a deep sigh of resignation, the horned fairy began to explain what Diaval had told her before she'd sent him away, and the girl's eyes widened.

"An attack...oh no...what do we do?!"

"I don't know, beastie. If we attack first, we give the impression that the war was our fault, our idea. If we give them a chance to gather their forces and re-group...we stand the chance of losing."

Shifting a bit, the fairy winced and immediately stilled, catching Aurora's attention.

"What's wrong? Are you in pain?"

"Only slightly...it's nothing, really."

"Does it have something to do with why you send Diaval away?"

"What?" was the fairy's response, turning wide green eyes to the blond sitting next to her.

"He...he came to see me, and said you called him an `insufferable little creature` and told him to leave. I thought you loved him."

Maleficent didn't respond, only gazed down at her hands, having missed the little bird more than she'd care to admit the night before. She'd grown used to sleeping in his arms, and found it near impossible to do so without him, and with nightmares added in, she hadn't slept at all.

"I...did send him away." she said, avoiding the last part of Aurora's statement about loving the raven.

"Why?"

"I'd rather not talk about it, beastie."

"Alright...but if you change your mind, I'm here."

The blond smiled and kissed her forehead before leaving the room, pulling the door closed gently behind her. The conversation with the Queen had left the fairy wondering if sending Diaval away was the right decision, and she got up, moving out onto the balcony, watching the sky. Nearly a month passed before she saw the raven again, and it was only when she found him laying on the ground near their tree in the Moors, exhausted. Her eyes widened a bit and she immediately moved to kneel next to him.

"Diaval! What are you doing here?"

"I...came to warn you and Aurora. The army is nearly here...I flew as fast as I could when I spotted them..."

"You're exhausted..."

"Why do you care? You told me to leave you alone, remember?"

His words caused a sick feeling to form in her stomach, and she gently reached out to brush his hair out of his face. The raven sat up and pushed her hand away, leveling her with a hard stare.

"Tell me why."

"I can't."

He huffed and stood, brushing off his clothes and heading for the border to go to the blond's castle. Maleficent stood as well and moved to follow him, faltering a bit and catching herself on the tree. Diaval had to stop himself from turning around and rushing to her side, and forced his feet to continue towards the castle, eventually shifting and flying instead. The fairy took off after him, intent on talking to him, trying to explain what was going on, when she caught the sound of hoofbeats on the ground.

"Oh no..."

Flying as fast as her wings could carry her, she turned around and dove back into the Moors, gathering her guards and warriors, before gliding back towards the castle. She landed in the courtyard, her small army standing guard outside the gates, ready for anything.

"Aurora!"

"I know...Diaval told me they're on their way."

"They're not only on their way, they're here."

**AN: CLIFFHANGER! MWAHAHAHA! Ahem. So, how will this war turn out? Will Maleficent and Diaval mend their relationship? Keep reading to find out! Reviews make me a happy wolf!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Aurora, Diaval and Maleficent stood on her balcony, watching their enemy mass outside the gates, the King stepping off his horse to address them.

"If you surrender now, no harm will come to you! Your pathetic little army can't stand up to us!"

Outside, Balthazar and the tree trolls snarled and moved to take a step forward, only to stop when the fairy flew down and landed in front of them. The men simply laughed, ignoring the hard glare and magic dancing in her eyes.

"Well well...you're up and moving I see, witch. Seems we didn't do our job well enough."

"I came down here to give you a chance to leave."

At a nod from his King, one of the soldiers moved forward, only to stop a few inches from the horned fairy, pulling something from his side. Instead of moving to attack her, he held the object up between them, a smirk forming on his lips.

"When we destroy your pathetic fighters...I'm going to personally enjoy killing you. I'll be sure this isn't dislodged as easily this time."

With a hard flap of her wings, the man was sent flying back against his horse, which he climbed back onto. Once he was up, the army turned and rode back towards the small camp set up out of sight. The fairy took a deep breath and turned around, coming face-to-face with Diaval, who looked down at the demented looking object on the ground. It was a thick iron pole with short spikes sticking out of it in random places, and the sight of it caused Maleficent to give an involuntary shiver.

"Talk to me. What the hell did they do to you?"

"I...let's go back inside, and I'll try to explain, alright?"

He nodded, and after a moment of thought, picked up the pole from the ground, taking it inside the gate and laying it aside, before leading the fairy inside, where Aurora joined them. The trio sat down, and after gentle prodding from her goddaughter, began to explain everything that had happened during her imprisonment. By the time she got to the part about the odd pole that was now laying inside the castle gate, Diaval was bristling in anger, and the blond had tears in her eyes.

"Naturally, a few of them couldn't bother to lower themselves to actually touch me...so they used that evil concoction down there."

"So...is that why you sent me away? You were afraid of me?"

"No...not of you..."

He nodded and got up, kneeling down on the floor in front of the fairy, gently resting his hands on hers.

"They'll pay for this...on my honor they'll pay."

"I didn't think you'd come back, birdie..."

"Ah, you won't get rid of me that easily. Ravens mate for life, after all."

A small smile curled her lips and she looked up when the door opened, a fully armored soldier standing there.

"Your majesty...they've started to advance..."

Aurora froze, looking over at the soldier, before nodding and telling him to ready their army for a fight. Diaval stood, holding a hand out to the horned fairy.

"Your people need you to lead them..."

She nodded and stood, moving to the balcony and watching the opposing army slowly advancing towards the castle again, her raven standing beside her again.

"A lot of people are going to die today, aren't they?"

"I have a feeling, that unfortunately, the answer to that is yes."

Diaval sighed and looked over at her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze before he shifted into a raven and flew down to perch on Balthazar's shoulder, cawing loudly. Taking a deep breath, Maleficent flew down as well, hovering in the air, only looking back when the gates opened and the human army stepped out as well. Before long, their enemy had stopped and was appraising them from a distance.

"Kill them all, but that horned bitch is mine."

The army let out a resounding yell, and all of them seemed to charge at once. Balthazar growled and looked up at the hovering fairy, who nodded silently. At his roar, all of the Moorland fighters charged forward as well, smashing into the approaching humans. Once the shock of fighting /alongside/ Maleficent wore off, Aurora's small force joined in the fight as well. Diaval shifted into a wolf, something he hated, and charged into battle, pouncing on soldiers and tearing them apart. Shaking herself mentally, the fairy joined them, knocking soldiers off horses and destroying wooden cannons with her powerful wings. Vines and tree-roots rose to trap the apposing soldiers without killing them, simply holding them so they could not move.

"You're mine, witch!"

Maleficent heard the yell too late, and let out a scream of pain as she was jumped on from behind, the iron of the man's armor burning her skin. She crashed to the ground, using the momentum to throw him off as she rolled, quickly getting to her feet and spreading her wings. The King of the opposing kingdom stood before her, reaching over to pick up the discarded torture device laying on the grass. When she saw him pick it up, her eyes narrowed, and her magic began to swirl around her in gold and green wisps.

"You just don't know when to give up, do you..."

"I'll stop fighting when you and your army are either dead, or too exhausted to continue."

The man let out a yell, moving forward and swinging the spiked pole with all his strength, aiming right at her chest. The fairy dodged out of the way, the claw on the tip of her wing swiping across his face, leaving a bloody gash. He stumbled back, holding his face, and when he removed his hand and saw blood, he laughed. Maleficent lifted an eyebrow, having not expected laughter from the man in the least.

"You don't want to kill me, do you? You want to win this war with as few deaths as possible, you stupid, stupid creature!"

She let out a sound similar to a growl, only to look over when she saw Diaval's form start to shift and change, a dragon taking the place of the wolf he had been. A smirk curled her lips, and she stepped back just as his tail swiped the King off his feet, sending him flying into a tree a few hundred feet back. The dragon lowered his head and peered at her out of the corner of his eye, and she nodded. With a huff, he turned and breathed fire at a group of oncoming soldiers, swiping at them with his claws and tail.

The fairy dodged spears and arrows, once catching a projectile and sending it flying back towards its owner, pinning him to the ground through the foot. A loud roar caught her attention, and she looked over, seeing Diaval backed against the wall of the castle, a group of men stabbing at him with spears and swords. Her feathers bristled and she flew towards them, knocking them back with a powerful gust of wind from her wings. Landing in front of him, she reached up and pulled a spear that had been embedded in his chest out, the dragon letting out a low growl.

"You alright?"

He nodded, and before he could warn her of the man approaching from behind, an arrow struck the attacker in the base of the skull. She turned around, eyes wide, watching the man fall to the ground dead, and then her eyes took in the sight of Stefan standing with his bow. With a small smile, she again took to the sky, flying over the battle-field, looking for anyone else in need of help. A high-pitched scream was heard from within the castle, and Maleficent's eyes widened.

"Aurora..."

Every head on the battle-field turned as one of the enemy soldiers stepped out onto the large balcony outside the Queen's room, his hand locked in her hair with a dagger at her throat. Her fighters froze, and watched fearfully as the man pulled her out to the edge of the stone balcony, the railing destroyed by a cannon.

"NO! Let go of her!"

The fairy looked over out of the corner of her eye as Stefan removed his helmet, watching the pair on the balcony closely. Diaval let out a loud roar, slamming his front leg into the ground, golden eyes glaring, if a dragon could glare. The man holding Aurora could be seen mumbling something in the Queen's ear before he shoved her over the edge of the broken stone, the girl grabbing onto one of the posts still intact.

"NO!"

Maleficent spread her wings and bolted forward, flying as fast as she could. Just as Aurora lost her grip, the fairy reached her, catching her as she fell. She flew up and landed on the balcony, setting the girl down before turning to face the one who'd nearly killed her.

"You...will pay for that."

He growled and charged forward, dagger outstretched, driving it into the horned fairy's shoulder just as she reached forward and wrapped her hand around his neck. Ignoring the burn of the iron, she brought the soldier to his knees, hands gripping at her wrist, and she did not release him until he stopped breathing. She looked out over the ongoing battle, noticing right away that the humans on their side were getting exhausted and nearly overwhelmed by the enemy.

"Godmother...what do we do?"

"We stop playing nice, beastie."

Maleficent again spread her wings, lifting her hands and letting magic flow through them. As she lifted them into the air, a creature made of vines, dirt and tree-roots rose from the ground, dwarfing even Diaval's dragon self in size. Once it was out of the ground fully, it turned to look at the fairy for instruction.

"Scare them back to their kingdom...kill them if you have to."

The creature roared, and charged the battle-field, the enemy immediately turning to face the new addition to battle. Maleficent collapsed to the stone beneath her, having used the majority of her magic to bring the magnificent creature to life.

"Godmother look out!"

The fairy looked up and her eyes widened as a iron-clad fist sent her flying backwards to slam into the wall behind her. She shook her head, and once her vision cleared, she stumbled to her feet. The enemy King moved forward and pinned her to the wall with a hand at her neck, a scowl on his face.

"You...are going to die."

She grunted, trying to pull his hand away from her skin, eyes widening as he produced the spiked pole from before. Aurora stared, too afraid to try and help lest she end up causing more harm to the winged fairy.

"When I'm done with you, witch...that bird of yours is next."

Hearing the threat to Diaval, Maleficent growled, and when he stepped back and swung the pole towards her head, she caught his wrist with a vine and stood. The fairy pulled the dagger from her shoulder and moved forward, pushing the blade into her enemy's neck before the vine flung him from the balcony. Scooping up the torture device from the stone, she flew down and landed over him, reaching down and tearing the chest-plate of his armor away. Placing a foot on his stomach, she lifted the spiked pole high over her head, and with a yell, brought it down onto his un-protected chest, barely blinking when blood sprayed forward onto her dress.

"Your king is dead! Go home, and stay there!"

A large vine picked up the body and flung it into the midst of his army, her wings spreading to their full span. One of the soldiers turned the last remaining cannons, launching the stone inside at the castle wall above where she stood. The wall began to crumble, and the moment Diaval looked over, he took off at a run.

"Maleficent!"

The fairy found herself shoved out of the way just as the wall above her collapsed and came crashing down, on top of her raven. Her eyes widened and she scrambled to her feet, rushing to the pile of stone, starting to move them away. Several of the soldiers came over to help her, carefully moving the stones as to not harm the man underneath anymore, while the rest chased what was left of the enemy back to their camp. Looking at the man next to her, and seeing Stefan helping dig Diaval free, she shook her head and turned her eyes back to the stones. Before long, the raven was revealed, lying unconscious. Maleficent brushed his hair out of his eyes and let her hand rest on his cheek. He didn't stir, and only then did the fairy realize that he wasn't breathing.

"No...Diaval..."

"Get him inside, and get the healers!"

The fairy sat stone still as he was lifted and carried inside, the castle's healers, as well as a few from the Moors entering his room and shutting the door. Stefan sat down next to her once she came into the castle, sitting on the floor outside Diaval's room, and she turned her eyes to him after a few moments.

"You saved me, out there. Thank you..."

He hesitantly reached over to lay his hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be alright."

"I certainly hope so..."

After what seemed like forever, the door opened and the pixie sisters flew over to her, having a quiet conversation before she stood, sending the former King another smile before vanishing into the raven's room. She knelt down beside the bed, reaching out and taking his hand with a shaky breath when she saw his chest rising and falling again. She leaned forward and spoke in his ear, so she wouldn't be overheard.

"Diaval...you saved me, again. You stupid bird...you were almost killed. I...don't know what I would do without you. You mean everything to me, birdie...now wake up so I can tell you how much I...love you..."

The door to the room slowly squeaked open, and Aurora entered, approaching slowly. Maleficent sent her a small smile, and moved to sit on the bed next to his unconscious form, gently running her fingers through his hair. The two women talked quietly for a couple hours, before the fairy fell asleep in the middle of the conversation, having depleted her magic and energy during the fight.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

The first thing the fairy saw when her eyes fluttered open again, were Diaval's deep black eyes staring back at her. She jumped at first, and then moved to kneel next to the bed again, taking his hand.

"Diaval...you're awake!"

He moved to sit up, Maleficent immediately moving to help him, propping a pillow up behind his back. The raven leaned back against the soft pillow with a smile of thanks.

"What happened? Did we win?"

"They ran off with their tails between their legs, so for now...yes, we won."

He grinned and took her hand again, looking intently at her shoulder for a moment before reaching out to gently run his finger along the angry red line on her skin. She blinked and turned her eyes to the mark as well, having forgotten it was even there.

"Are you alright?"

"Silly birdie, you're the one who was nearly killed..."

Diaval smiled again and shifted a bit, wincing at a pain in his shoulder, before settling against the pillow again. Maleficent reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder, focusing her magic into healing the stiffness there.

"I could hear you, y`know..."

"Hm? Hear me?"

"When you were talking to me, while I was sleeping. I could hear you..."

"Oh? You...could huh? Well...what did I say, then?"

Instead of answering, he reached out and laid his hand on the back of her neck, gently drawing her into a kiss. The hand that was resting at her side moved to his shoulder, and her eyes fluttered shut. After a few moments, he pulled away just enough to speak.

"I could tell you...but I want to hear you say it again."

A light blush colored the fairy's cheeks, and she turned her head away from him. With a light chuckle, he turned curled his fingers around her cheek and made her look at him again.

"You said it when I was sleeping...why can't you say it when I'm awake?"

Maleficent sighed a bit and rested her forehead against his, letting her hands slip from his shoulders. She argued with herself over how to respond to his question, oblivious to Aurora standing in the doorway, listening. The raven waited patiently, knowing how uncomfortable it must make her to admit her feelings after being betrayed so badly in the past. Finally, she looked up at him with a slight smile.

"I guess...I'm afraid if I say it again...the past will repeat itself and you'll have some reason to betray me as well."

"I would never...NEVER...betray you. You mean too much to me for the thought to even BEGIN to enter my mind."

"Diaval..."

"I love you, Maleficent. Nothing will ever change that, so you don't need to be afraid to tell me anything."

The fairy's eyes flashed a bright green and she moved to sit on the bed next to him, brushing some hair out of his face as his arm wound around her waist. She pulled him against her chest, resting her chin on top of his head with a sigh. A soft chuckle escaped him and he let his eyes close, enjoying the feel of her fingers in his hair, and when she spoke, she spoke directly in his ear.

"I love you, too, Diaval."

"Knew it."

"Oh hush, you."

He chuckled and looked up at her before gently pushing her back and attempting to stand. The fairy stood, helping him up, and not letting go of his arm until she was satisfied he wouldn't fall. After wobbling a bit for a few moments, he steadied and smiled at her. The moment he went to take a step, he fell forward, and Maleficent caught him, his arms winding around her waist.  
>"Guess I'm not quite strong enough to walk yet, huh?"<p>

"Guess not. Back into bed with you, birdie."

He huffed and sat back down on the soft mattress, his stiff legs thanking him. Once he was situated, she laid her hands on his legs and let a bit of magic leak into his body, trying to help ease the pain. The fairy smiled and kissed his forehead as Aurora finally came fully into the room, followed closely by the trio of pixie sisters, the Queen sitting on the other side of the bed. Diaval smiled at her as she hugged him, glad to see he was awake and talking again. Maleficent turned her gaze to the door just in time to see Stefan walk by, and she stood, leaving the room for a few moments.

"Stefan...a moment, if you don't mind."

The man in question blinked and turned around, a small smile on his lips as she approached.

"Of course."

The fairy returned his small smile, and followed the former King out into the courtyard to talk.

"I...wanted to thank you, for saving me, and helping Diaval."

"You don't need to thank me..."

"Yes, I do. You asked for my forgiveness...and I feel I'm ready to give it to you."

"Wha...really?"

"You saved both of us, Stefan, so yes, I'm willing to give you another chance at being my friend."

"Thank you so much. I swear to you, I'll do my best to protect you and the Moors."

A light laugh escaped the fairy and she put a hand on the man's shoulder, before turning to head back inside. He smiled and continued on his way to the dining hall, while she returned to Diaval's room. The raven had stood again and moved to stand next to the window with Aurora's help.

"Diaval...you're supposed to be resting..."

"I'm okay. Thanks to your magic, I feel fine now."

She walked over and rested her hand on his shoulder, smiling at the blond. She grinned happily when Diaval leaned over and kissed the fairy on the cheek, causing a light blush to show on her cheeks.

"You two are adorable! When are you going to get married?"

Maleficent nearly choked on the air, and turned wide eyes to her goddaughter.

"Aurora!"

"What?! It's an honest question!"

The fairy turned her gaze to the raven again, who's cheeks now rivaled the color of a tomato, and gently elbowed him.

"Say something!"

"Ah...I er...well...what's one supposed to say to that?!"

She let out a groan and laid her face against his arm, shaking her head, muttering under her breath. Aurora simply stared, as if awaiting a real answer from either of them. Diaval tugged at the collar of his shirt, clearing his throat.

"Is..ah..is it warm in here?"

"Perhaps if you feel up to flying, birdie, we should return home?"

"Yes! I mean, that sounds like a wonderful idea."

After saying goodbye, and insisting both she and Stefan visit soon, the two of them took to the skies and returned to the Moors, the rest of the fairfolk having returned after the battle ended. Once they were back, the raven immediately went to the lake to take a bath, the fairy sitting on the bank, relaxing in the sun. Before long, he joined her, after pulling his pants back on of course. She looked over at him and smiled, brushing some stray water from his cheek.

"Still can't believe the little beastie asked us that."

"She certainly is a curious one, isn't she?"

"That she is."

"Besides, you're already my mate, and ravens mate for life, so..."

Maleficent lifted her eyebrow when he called her his mate, and then chuckled a bit, pushing him playfully. He smirked and pushed her back, laughing when her wings fluttered a bit, before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his lap. Adjusting a bit to make her wings more comfortable, she leaned back against him and watched the water nymphs.

"It is an interesting thought, though..."

"Hm? What is?"

"Human marriage."

"Ohhh no. Don't even go there, birdie."

"Not interested in that, eh?"

"I've never thought about it, really."

He chuckled and pressed a light kiss to the back of her neck before standing, simply lifting her with him. She blinked and her arms went around his neck out of instinct.

"What are you...don't you dare, Diaval! I swear I'll turn you into a dog for a month if you..."

Her statement was cut off as he tossed her into the lake with a laugh, only to be hauled in with her when her grip on him simply tightened. She sputtered to the surface and shot him a mock glare when he surfaced as well. He snorted and moved forward, only to be splashed in the face, the fairy backing up.

"Aw, didn't want to get your feathers wet, huh?"

She growled at him before pushing him back under the surface before climbing out of the water. When he surfaced again, he smirked at her and tossed his now-soaked pants onto the grass before moving to rest his arms on the bank.

"You have no shame, you silly bird."

"You could always just hang your dress out to dry and join me, y`know."

Her hands stopped trying to wring the water from the material of said dress, and she turned her eyes to him, lifting an eyebrow. He grinned, eyes glittering playfully, watching as she stood and tilted her head in thought.

"Hm...I suppose I /could/ do that...or I could just fly back to the nest and leave you here."

"Aw, you wouldn't leave me all alone, naked in the lake, would you?"

"Hmmm...does my little birdie not want to be alone?"

"Not particularly, no."

"Oh alright, no need for that look."

He watched her every move as she slowly let the dress fall to the grass, picking it up and hanging it over a tree branch. The raven swam backwards as she slipped into the lake as well, folding her wings against her back. Once she was situated, he moved forward again and pulled her into his arms, pressing his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss, chuckling softly when he pressed her back against the bank. When he ran his hands down her sides, she froze before pushing him back and climbing back out of the water, re-dressing.

"Wha...What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I...ah...just have a few things to take care of."

Blinking in confusion, Diaval watched as she flew away from him. He climbed out of the lake and re-dressed as well before heading off to find the fairy.

"Maleficent? Where are you!"

The slight ruffle of feathers gave away her location, huddled against the base of their tree. He moved over and sat next to her, gently slipping an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry...I just..."

"Shh...it's alright. I didn't think, forgive me."

Diaval mentally smacked himself at momentarily forgetting what she'd been through while captive. Maleficent sighed and leaned against him, laying her head against his shoulder.

"It's not you, I promise."

"I know."

After the fairy's mind calmed, the two of them climbed the tree to their nest, and relaxed. Maleficent ended up falling asleep rather quickly, leaving her raven to contemplate some things before joining her in slumber.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Diaval was awakened near midnight by Maleficent's strangled scream, and her wings brushing against him as they fluttered when she sat upright. He sat up as well, blinking the sleep from his eyes, gently laying a hand on her back.

"Maleficent?"

His touch seemed to startle her, and she turned wide eyes to the raven beside her. When she realized who he was, she let out a sigh, and tried to get her heart-rate to slow down again. She drew her knees up and rested her forehead on them, shaking her head a bit. Once she calmed a bit, she leaned back against the tree again, wincing as a familiar and unwelcome pain flared inside her.

"Forgive me for waking you, birdie..."

"It's alright. What's wrong?"

"Ugh...it's the same stupid dream I've been having since I was freed from those humans."

"I'll listen, if you want to talk about it..."

"I'd rather not, but thank you."

Finally relaxing, after forcing herself to remember that it was /Diaval/ beside her, the fairy let herself lean into his side when he gently slipped his arm around her shoulders. The raven rested his chin on top of her head, gently stroking the feathers of her wings in hopes he could lull her into a more peaceful sleep. After nearly an hour, Diaval's hand stilled as he fell asleep again, leaving Maleficent wide awake and restless. Carefully slipping out of his arms, she climbed down from the tree and wandered off, not really paying attention to where she was going. It wasn't long until she found herself lost, having wandered into a part of the Moors where she never went.

"Wonderful...just what I need..."

As she walked through the darkness, trying to find her way back to her tree, her mind began to play tricks on her, as if she was dreaming again, while fully awake. In an instant, she was back in the small, dark, dingy dungeon cell of the human castle. The door opened, and three men entered the cell, carrying the spiked iron pipe. Two of them approached and held her down, while the third stood at her feet, a maniacal smile on his face as he slowly advanced the torture device up her dress. Just as it touched her, the fairy tripped and fell, knocking herself unconscious on a large stone.

When Maleficent awoke again, she was lying by the lake near her tree, dirt and mud stuck to her in random places. With considerable effort, she pulled herself up to her feet, pain and dizziness slamming into her, causing her to sit again. The fairy lifted a hand to her head, wincing when she felt a patch of dried blood where her temple had contacted the stone when she fell. Hearing Diaval shifting in the nest above her, she looked up, watching as he sat up.

"I'm down here, Diaval."

"Huh? What are you doing down...there..."

He immediately climbed down the tree to sit next to her, examining the dried blood on her skin, wiping away some dirt from her cheek.

"What happened?"

"I couldn't sleep, so I went on a walk. I wandered into a part of the Moors I don't often venture to, and got lost. I must have tripped and hit my head, because the next thing I know, I woke up here."

"Ah. Well...it doesn't look too bad, at least."

She nodded, regretting it as the motion made her vision blur, and she fell against his side, losing consciousness again. Diaval caught her, laying her down on the grass. Not having anything else to use, he tore a sleeve from his shirt and soaked it in the cool water of the lake before laying it on her forehead. When the fairy woke again, she found herself wrapped in the raven's coat, her dress laying over a stone in the sun to dry where he'd washed the mud from it.

"Diaval?"

When she didn't get an answer, Maleficent stood and made her way to her dress, smiling when she found it dry. After pulling it back on, she moved to sit on the stone instead, wincing again as the pain inside her body flared.

"Maleficent? Are you alright?"

The sound of the raven's voice caught her attention, and she looked over as he emerged from some bushes not far off.

"Fine...no, I'm not fine. Something's wrong..."

"Wrong?"

"I shouldn't still be in pain this long after what happened...any internal wounds should have healed by now."

"Do you want me to get the pixies?"

She shook her head and tried to relax on the sun-warmed rock, letting her thoughts wander. Diaval sat next to the rock, offering her some of the berries he'd picked from the bushes. She smiled and took the offered food, hardly moving as some rustling was heard in the trees. The raven, however, stiffened, ready to defend her against an attack, only relaxing when Aurora broke the tree-line. When he saw the man who trailed behind her, however, he moved to stand, only to have Maleficent put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright, birdie, I invited him."

He settled, though kept a watchful eye on the one who'd betrayed his mate so badly in the past.

"Godmother!"

"Beastie."

The fairy had to hide a wince as the blond came over and hugged her, and wrapped an arm loosely around her in return. Diaval found himself wrapped in a hug as well, which he warmly returned. Having seen the wince, Stefan lifted an eyebrow slightly, though kept quiet. The four of them sat and talked for a while, and when Maleficent rose to walk them back to the border, she let out a gasp and doubled over. The raven quickly moved to her side, catching her before she collapsed to the ground.

"What's wrong?"

"I...don't know. Diaval...get the pixies...hurry."

He nodded, and after quickly, yet carefully, passing her over to Aurora and Stefan, took to the skies in search of the tiny trio. He found them soon enough, and within minutes of him explaining the situation, they were flying back towards the downed fairy. When they returned, a faint glow could be seen under the woman's dress, one that had both Aurora and Stefan staring, dumbfounded. Once the pixies arrived, they quickly had her moved to the cottage where they'd raised the blond Queen, and shut the door in the others' faces. Diaval, still in raven form, flew restlessly around the cottage, landing on the window-sill every now and then, trying to get a look at what was happening inside.

"Diaval?"

He cawed and flew back to where Aurora was sitting, her father having returned to the castle, just in case something was needed, and shifted into a man.

"She'll be alright, Aurora. She's a strong woman..."

She nodded and leaned against him, her eyes locked on the small cottage where she'd grown up. A loud scream of pain causing her to shiver and bury her face in the raven's shoulder. After what seemed like forever, the door opened, and the trio of pixies came out, Knotgrass carrying something wrapped in a cloth. They approached Diaval and Aurora, handing him the cloth-wrapped object. With some hesitation, he unfolded the cloth, and gaped at what he saw. Lying in his hand, were close to a dozen small, iron balls.

"Those were...erm...inside her body. She's lucky...any longer and they would have caused permanent damage."

"Will she be alright?"

"She should be fine in a few days."

A breath of relief escaped the bird, and he sent the three a smile before they flew away. He and the blond stood and entered the cottage, to see the horned fairy sleeping with a small frown on her face. Diaval moved over and pulled a pair of chairs over next to the bed, somehow knowing the blond wouldn't leave until Maleficent woke up. As if sensing them in the room, the fairy turned her head towards them, but didn't open her eyes. It was near sunset before she woke, letting out a soft groan as her eyes fluttered open.

"Mm...Diaval? Aurora?"

The raven smiled at hearing her voice, and reached out to take her hand, nodding to Aurora, who was sound asleep in her chair. She moved to sit up, but quickly reconsidered when pain seared through her body, causing her to /immediately/ lay back again. He helped her get situated again before sitting next to her on the bed.

"The pixies said you should be fine in a few days..."

"What the hell was wrong with me?"

"These were...uhm...inside you, apparently." he said, revealing what was wrapped in the black cloth.

"So even after you freed me, those bastards were torturing me. From the /inside/...lovely."

"What's important is, that they were able to remove them. They said if you'd waited any longer to get help, there would have been permanent damage."

She huffed, taking the cloth from him and flinging it against the wall of the cottage, the little balls scattering, the sound waking Aurora. She rubbed her eyes and sat up straight in the chair, blinking away the remnants of sleep.

"Forgive me, beastie. Didn't mean to wake you."

"Godmother! You're awake...how do you feel?"

"Like I was trampled by a dragon."

Diaval snorted and lifted an eyebrow at her, causing her to give a cheeky little grin in his direction. The blond Queen laughed, and when she looked outside, her eyes widened.

"Oh goodness! It's so late...I should probably get home..."

"You'll leave in the morning. Even the Moors aren't completely safe at night."

After a /very/ brief argument, she nodded and settled back into her chair, simply watching the interaction between the fairy and the raven. Feigning sleep, she listened carefully to their whispered conversations.

"Maleficent...why didn't you tell me they did this?"

"I didn't /know/ they put iron /inside/ my body...I must've been out cold...or in too much pain to notice..."

Diaval stayed silent, reaching to re-adjust her pillows to try and make her as comfortable as possible. She reached up and caught his arm, gazing into his eyes.

"What's wrong, birdie?"

"I shouldn't have let this happen to you. You're my mate...it's my job to protect you!"

"Diaval...no one knew something like this was going to happen. You were injured, anyways, you would've only gotten yourself killed."

"I would happily die for you."

A solid grip on the back of his neck stilled him when he tried to move away, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"Don't you /ever/ talk like that. You are to NEVER put yourself in harm's way to protect me. NEVER. If something happened to you because of me...I couldn't live with myself."

The raven sighed and leaned down, resting his forehead against hers and closing his eyes. She closed her eyes as well, loosening her grip on his neck, simply letting her hand rest there now. Muttered `I love you`'s were exchanged before the fairy drifted back into the land of sleep, the wounds inside her body slowly beginning to heal.

**AN: Hi there my faithful readers! Even though this story seems popular...I haven't gotten many reviews, save from the lovely Rose-Writer17. My next chapter is going to have a fair amount of fluff, but if you want to see it, you MUST review! I won't post otherwise! Mwahahaha! Reviews make me a very happy wolf!**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

When morning rolled around, the sun striking her face caused the fairy to yawn and open her eyes. A small smile curled her lips at seeing Diaval fast asleep as well, with his head resting on the side of the mattress next to her. A gentle shake was delivered to his shoulder to wake him.

"Hm? Well, good morning."

"Time to get up, birdie. I want you to see Aurora back to the castle as soon as she wakes."

"Of course."

The raven sat up, stretching with a grunt as his back popped, before leaning over to kiss Maleficent's forehead. She smiled again as she heard the chair next to them shift, signaling the blond Queen's awakening. The moment she opened her eyes and saw the fairy looking at her, she stood and moved forward, Diaval moving to the window so they could talk.

"Morning, beastie."

"How are you feeling this morning, godmother?"

"Better...still in a bit of pain, but nothing I can't handle."

"Diaval never left your side, you know...the two weeks you were sleeping? I don't think he even slept more than a few hours."

Maleficent turned her gaze towards the raven, who was giving them a respectful distance, and a gentle smile curled her lips.

"Silly bird..."

"He loves you, as if you didn't already know that."

"Mm, he certainly tells me often enough. You, my dear, should get home. I'm sure Stefan is worried."

Aurora nodded, and after sharing a hug with the fairy, left with Diaval to return to the castle. After they left, she sat up, moving to slowly rise from the bed, just in case she wasn't able to stand. Finding that the searing pain had lessened to a dull ache over night, she moved outside to await her raven's return. During that time, Flittle, Knotgrass and Thistlebit came to pay her a visit and see how she was doing after the ordeal the night before.

"I'm surprised to see you up already, my lady. That iron did a fair bit of damage to you..."

"I didn't get the chance last night to thank you three. If not for you, and Diaval of course, I would more than likely be dead. Anything you want, name it, and it will be yours."

The pixies insisted that they wanted nothing, but after the horned fairy's insistence, simply requested that she do her best to maintain peace with her goddaughter's kingdom. Maleficent agreed with a chuckle, telling them that she had intended to do whatever it took. Diaval returned shortly after, flying down to land on her shoulder, cawing softly when she stroked his feathers. Taking off again, he shifted into a man and sat next to her on the small bench outside the cottage, holding one hand behind his back.

"I must say, Aurora certainly is intent on us getting married, isn't she?"

"Oh no, did she bring it up /again/?"

"She did, so I brought something back that I thought might satisfy her, for a bit, at least."

A lifted eyebrow is what he got in turn, and he chuckled, revealing what he'd been hiding. Resting in his hand were two simple, steel rings that he'd procured on his way back.

"Well now...do I even want to know how you got these?"

"I bought them, of course."

"Bought...where on earth did you find the money for them?"

"That...you may not want to ask. I don't really see the significance of these things, but your goddaughter insisted they were important."

Maleficent chuckled, and explained to him what the exchanging of rings meant in human culture. After she finished, he chuckled as well, and after getting her permission, slipped the smaller one onto her hand.

"There...maybe that will keep her satisfied?"

"I think they will cause her to be even more insistent, but...it's a start."

"I don't see how I'll keep from losing this, won't fit my talons very well when I transform, after all."

She smiled and leaned against his side once he put his own ring onto his hand, chuckling at the odd look on his face. The pixies peered out of their hiding place in a tree, having flown off when the raven had returned, and all three shared a knowing smile. Diaval stood, offering a hand to help the fairy up, and once she stood, he started walking.

"And where, may I ask, are we going?"

"Uhm...good question. It was just a bit odd, having the pixie sisters staring at us."

"Actually...there is something I've been meaning to talk to you about."

"Ah, there is?"

"Nothing bad, you silly bird. It's actually something that could be very good, if you agree. And, of course, if I can get the help I would need."

His curiosity won out, and when she explained her idea to him, his eyes seemed to light up. She told him that it was possible, though /very/ unlikely, that he could become like her, a fairy.

"How...would that even..."

"I would have to ask for help from the spirits that live deep in the Moors. It's not a task I could ever complete on my own, even my magic isn't that strong. If they agree to help, and if it's what you want, you would be a fairy."

"I...wouldn't be a raven, anymore?"

"No...you wouldn't. Think on it for a while, Diaval. It's not something you should decide quickly, the change is permanent, after all."

He stopped walking, causing her to turn, a curious look in her bright green eyes. After a moment, he changed into a raven and flew off into the trees, leaving her to wonder what had caused him to leave her side so suddenly. Deciding to give him space, Maleficent continued the walk through the Moors. It was hours before she went looking for him, finding him sitting on one of the highest cliffs in the area. Instead of flying up like she normally would have, she took the time to walk up, giving him more privacy before she sat next to him.

"Are you alright? You flew off in a hurry."

"Forgive me. I just wanted some time to think, that's all. I just, can't see myself being anything other than what I am. I'm sorry..."

"No need to apologize, birdie. I would never expect you to do something you don't want."

He reached over and took her hand, leaning in to kiss her cheek before looking back up at the sky.

"It would be interesting, though, to fly in a human body."

"Well, if you want to experience it, let me be /your/ wings, for once."

"Are you strong enough to do that?"

She gave him a look, and he laughed before the two of them stood, and he drew her into his arms. The fairy wrapped her arms around his waist and smiled.

"Just hold on tight, birdie. I won't drop you."

"I trust you. And besides, even if you do, I can change and fly on my own."

Rolling her eyes, she spread her wings, and with a few powerful flaps, propelled both of them up into the clouds. Diaval closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of the wind against his skin, and only opened them when they stopped moving. The fairy was hovering in one place, simply watching the clouds move past them, looking into his eyes when he spoke.

"This is amazing.../you/ are amazing."

"I agree that the view up here is quite beautiful."

Shifting a hand, he lifted it to her cheek, smiling at the pure joy shining in her eyes. His smile was returned, and he leaned his head forward the small distance it took to press his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. A soft sigh escaped her, and after a few moments, she pulled back.

"Careful...best not to distract me while we're so high up."

"Well...maybe we should land, then, so I can.../distract/ you safely."

With a soft laugh, she slowly lowered them back to the ground, landing gracefully in the middle of a small clearing full of flowers. The moment their feet were on the ground, he pulled her forward into another kiss, her arms moving to rest around his neck. A smile curled her lips as he pulled back a few moments later, resting his forehead on hers, her smile only growing as he spoke.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

A wide grin curled his lips as well at hearing her quick response, nuzzling her nose a bit. She let out a breath and opened her eyes, moving back a bit and resting her hands on his shoulders. Diaval moved forward and picked her up, moving towards their tree, chuckling when her lips brushed his neck.

"Are you still in pain?"

"A little, nothing horrible."

"You sure?"  
>"Positive, birdie."<p>

He smiled at her, and before long they were resting in the nest, his fingers idly running through her hair and over the base of her horns. She rested her hand on his chest, his chin resting on top of her head. The fairy ran her fingers over the scars that littered his skin, letting her eyes close. The raven cleared his throat and shifted a bit, catching her attention and causing her to support her weight on an elbow and look down at him.

"Something wrong?"

"Ah...no?"

Her eyebrow lifted and she let her gaze wander over him, chuckling when she saw him shift again, eyes immediately locking on the slight bulge in his pants.

"Mm, nothing's wrong, huh?"

"I...ah...well..."

"You're adorable when you're flustered, my little raven."

He snorted and rolled to pin her under him, a light laugh escaping the horned fairy. Once she was comfortable, her wings curled around them, shielding them from view. Diaval gazed down into her eyes, resting his hands on her waist as he leaned down to press his lips to her neck. Maleficent smiled and ran her fingers through his hair, her other hand moving to the back of his neck. His hands moved up to the ties on the back of her dress, and then froze.

"Are you...okay with this? I mean...I don't want to rush you, if you're still afraid..."

"I'm not afraid of you, Diaval. I know you would never hurt me...so yes, help me forget."

He smiled, leaning down to press his lips to hers, gently untying her dress and pulling it down slowly, giving her every chance he could to back out if she wanted. She reached down and pulled his shirt over his head, laying it aside with a smile of her own. The raven sat up and pushed his pants down, laying them aside as well, before settling himself on top of her again. She moved her hands to his shoulders, pulling him down into another kiss, letting out a soft sigh as his hands started to wander. Diaval took his time, being as gentle as possible, letting his lips explore every inch of her skin. The fairy closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the soft moss that made up the bulk of the nest. The raven moved up and kissed her neck before speaking in her ear.

"You're so beautiful..."

"You're too nice for your own good, birdie."

A chuckle escaped him, and he rested his forehead against hers, playfully kissing the tip of her nose. She rolled her eyes a bit, and reached up to lay her hand on the back of his neck, trying to stay relaxed as he shifted his weight a bit. Diaval looked down into her eyes, and when she nodded, he moved forward, slowly slipping into her. The moment she felt him, her muscles tensed, wings spreading and moving to wrap around her. The raven stopped moving completely, simply lowering his head to kiss her. After a few moments, and after wrangling her brain back under her control, she nuzzled his neck.

"I'm alright..."

"Are you sure?"

Maleficent nodded, constantly reminding herself that it was Diaval above her. He caught her in another kiss and started a slow, gentle, loving pace, not wanting to scare her. After a few minutes, her body relaxed, wings falling to lay stretched out behind her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck with a smile. The raven returned the smile, resting a hand on her waist, the other moving to gently stroke her feathers. Diaval suddenly found himself on his back, the fairy having used said wings as leverage to flip them, and he blinked up at her. Her only response was a cheeky grin as she placed her hands on his chest and took over their pace, wings spreading to their full span behind her.

A soft groan escaped both of them at the change in position, and Maleficent let her head fall back. The raven found himself breathless as he let his eyes wander over her, the sun blocked by her wings, giving her a striking silhouette against the light. Both of his hands immediately moved to her hips, and he pushed up into her as she came down. The fairy leaned down, barely brushing her lips against his, only to pull away playfully when he tried to deepen their kiss.

"You're not...playing fair."

"Oh?"

With a grunt, Diaval suddenly sat upright, arms winding around her waist to pull her flush against his chest, lips claiming hers in a passionate kiss. A soft gasp escaped her at the sudden contact, and she chuckled lightly against his lips. It wasn't long before Maleficent found herself on her back again, the raven speeding up his thrusts a bit, looking down into her eyes to make sure she was alright. In turn, she leaned up and nipped his ear before whispering into it.

"Come now, is that the best you can do?"

A sound remarkably like a growl slipped past his lips, and he immediately unleashed everything he had, arms again pulling her as close as possible. The fairy's head snapped back against the nest and a loud moan escaped her lips, eyes flashing before slipping shut. Diaval's lips found her neck, and his teeth latched on to the skin, feeling his release slowly approaching. One of her hands tangled in his hair, and her legs wound around his waist, her other hand digging into the moss of the nest. It wasn't long at all until she felt her muscles start to tense, and she bit down on his shoulder to stifle the near scream that threatened to escape as her release hit with a vengeance. Feeling her legs tighten around his waist, he let out a loud groan as his own hit, causing the raven to stiffen against her. The pair clung to each other as the waves of pleasure died down, and he moved to lay next to her. When Maleficent went to lift her head, she blinked when she found she couldn't.

"Ah...I do believe I'm stuck..."

"Huh? Stuck?"

"My horns are...ahem...stuck in the tree..."

Looking up, he gave a light chuckle and reached up to help gently free her horns from the bark. Once she was free, she rolled to rest her head on his chest, a light blush on her cheeks.

"That was, I must say, the first time I've ever gotten caught by a tree."

Diaval laughed and hugged her close, her wing stretching over them to hide them from view.

"Are you alright? I mean...I didn't hurt you, right?"

"I'm not /that/ fragile, birdie. I'm fine."

"Of course not." he said with another chuckle.

"That was...absolutely perfect."

With a smile, he kissed her forehead and closed his eyes, and the two of them drifted off to sleep in the warmth of the afternoon sun.

**AN: FLUFF! Everyone loves some good fluff! Please review, they make me a happy wolf!**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Maleficent woke later that day alone in the nest, causing a confused expression to bloom on her face. She sat up and looked around, thinking he may have shifted and was sitting on one of the higher branches of the tree. The raven was nowhere in sight, however, the only indication that he'd even been there was the imprint of his body in the moss. Concern leaked into her mind, as usually when he left before she woke, he would leave something next to her.

"Diaval?"

Only when she shifted her wings did she realize that a light coating of snow had fallen while they'd slept, winter finally arriving in the Moors. She shivered a bit, and after finding a heavier dress and cloak, she left the tree and went looking for her mate. Most of the Moorland residents had taken shelter from the cold, and she found herself utterly alone, wings leaving marks behind her.

"Where could he have gone..."

The fairy kept her eyes on the ground, looking for any footprints, or talon prints that might give her an indication of where to look. Finally giving up on walking, she lifted into the sky, flying over the land to see if she could see him. Smoke caught her attention, and she immediately flew towards it, finding it coming from the chimney of the small cottage further in. Lifting an eyebrow, she landed in front of it, and slowly pushed open the door before stepping inside.

"Diaval? Are you here?"

A lump of blankets sitting next to the fire moved, sliding down to reveal the raven bundled up.

"Oh, Maleficent! I didn't mean to worry you, I just had to get out of the cold. Ravens aren't suited very well for winter, I'm afraid."

Relief at finding him, and concern for his health, both overtook her at once, and she moved to sit next to him. Her wings extended and wrapped around both of them to provide further warmth. Diaval sighed and relaxed into the softness of her feathers, smiling.

"I didn't even think...we need to find you warmer clothing."

"That would be greatly appreciated, believe me."

Seeing the bird shiver, despite the layers of blankets, she removed her cloak and laid it over his shoulders as well. The fairy pressed a finger to his lips when he started to protest.

"I'm used to cold, birdie. We'll go to Aurora's castle once you warm up and see what we can procure for you."

After insisting she join him under the blankets, he wrapped his arms around her waist, the shared body heat in the cocoon of cloth warming them both. The pair sat like that for close to an hour, before Diaval informed her he was warm enough to fly, only to have her shake her head.

"You transform, and I'll carry you. I don't want you to get that cold again."

The bird protested, but eventually gave in, shifting and allowing himself to be wrapped in her cloak before she stepped outside. After making sure he was properly bundled, she took to the sky and flew towards the blond's kingdom. It wasn't long before she landed outside the gate, the guards recognizing her and letting her inside. Aurora had given orders that the neither the fairy or raven were to be harassed or denied entrance when they came to see her. Once inside, Diaval shifted again and moved to sit next to the fire roaring in the main hall. Maleficent sat next to him until her goddaughter came into the room and spoke.

"Godmother? Is everything alright?"

"Fine, beastie. I hate to ask, but is there a possibility of getting this silly bird some winter clothing?"

"Of course! I'll have some made right away."

The fairy gave her a smile before turning her eyes to Diaval, who was sitting with his eyes closed, enjoying the fire. She shivered a bit herself when the wind outside picked up, howling against the stone.

"I hope you don't plan on flying back to the Moors tonight...it's started to snow again, rather heavily."

The fairy peered out the window, and snow was indeed falling again, and you could barely make out the trees within the Moors. Maleficent grunted and shook her head, looking over at Diaval again.

"I have no desire to take him back out in this weather unless we have to."

"Then you'll stay here until it lets up. I'll come get you once there's a room ready."

A smile curled the fairy's lips and she again nodded, moving to sit next to the raven again, explaining the situation. He let out a sigh and nodded, reaching over to take her hand. Again, her wings spread and wrapped around them, absorbing the warmth from the fire like a feathery blanket. It wasn't long until the two of them were shown to a room in the castle, a fire already roaring in the fire-place.

"Sorry to be a bother..."

"Who said you were a bother, birdie?"

"I know you don't like sleeping outside the Moors..."

"Oh hush. You're more important to me than where we sleep."

Diaval smiled and moved to lay on the bed, looking over at the window with a grimace at the snow, before climbing under the blankets. The fairy joined him, yawning a bit and resting her head on his chest, idly tracing the scars that showed on his chest.

"You'll have to tell me where some of these came from..."

"I will, if you want."

"I admit, I'm curious."

He chuckled and nodded, and over the next hour or so, answered questions about his scars, and telling stories of when he'd been young. The fairy responded with stories of her own, getting a laugh out of him every once in a while. They talked until Diaval fell silent, sleep claiming him a few hours after the sun went down. Maleficent smiled and pressed a kiss to his cheek before laying next to him and closing her eyes as well. Sleep claimed her not long after, her dreams for once pleasant since she'd been freed. When the sun came in through the window the next morning, Diaval shifted, flinging an arm over his eyes. The fairy blinked awake, lifting her wing in front of her to block out the harsh light.

"Diaval, wake up."

"Mmph..."

"Wake /up/ you lazy bird."

"Huh? What?"

Maleficent rolled her eyes at him before getting out of the bed, walking to the window and peering out, pleased to see the snow had stopped falling. After a few moments, the raven stood as well, padding over to the window to join her.

"Well...at least it stopped."

"Still looks REALLY cold out there, though."

A chuckle escaped the horned fairy and she leaned on the wall next to the window, watching people bustling about the castle grounds, wrapped in heavy winter coats, pants and dresses. A hand on her waist caused her to turn her head and smile at Diaval, who returned it and stretched his muscles. A soft knock on the door attracted their attention, and said door slowly creaked open to reveal one of the castle maids. Maleficent lifted an eyebrow as the woman /refused/ to meet her gaze, simply shuffling in and laying some heavy clothes on the bed before shuffling out again.

"Oh, honestly...I'm not /that/ hideous, am I?"

"Of course not. You're beautiful."

The fairy smiled again and moved over to examine what had been brought to them, tossing the winter pants, shirt and coat to the raven, who gratefully slipped into them. Along with the clothes, were two pairs of shoes, at which she snorted, though scooted a pair of them towards Diaval. She slipped into the heavy dress that had been provided, thanking Aurora for choosing a dark, almost navy blue color, and sat down on the edge of the bed to pull the shoes onto her feet.

"Ugh...I hate shoes."

"Winter clothes wouldn't do much good with bare feet, now would they?"

"I suppose not."

Once she stood again, the raven made his way over and slipped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him.

"Since we were interrupted before I could do this..."

A light chuckle escaped her when he leaned forward and caught her in a brief kiss.

"Well...good morning to you too, birdie. Shall we go find Aurora?"

Diaval nodded and held his arm out to her, which she wrapped her own around after again rolling her eyes. As the pair wandered the castle, maids and butlers scurried out of their way, all refusing to look the fairy in the eye. The older maid that had brought their clothes scurried by in the hall, dropping some of the laundry she was carrying. When Maleficent saw how hard it was for the older woman to kneel down to pick up said laundry, she walked over to her with a friendly smile, picking it up and handing it back to her.

"I believe this is yours."

"Oh...oh, thank you, my lady."

"You're...welcome?"

Her eyebrow shot up as the woman quickly collected the dropped linens and scurried down the hallway, as if afraid something were after her. Diaval walked over and stood next to her, blinking in confusion as well, before they continued down the hallway in their search for Aurora. The only people to actually stop and greet them on sight, were Stefan and Prince Phillip, the boy having come to visit his fiance. After the former King pointed them in the correct direction, the three set off towards the throne room, where the new Queen was hearing complaints from the people of her kingdom. The girl looked absolutely frazzled, nearly in tears, at having so many people asking for, and demanding, help at once, and when she saw the fairy enter, she /quickly/ motioned her up. When the elegant woman started to make her way up to the front, the villagers parted as one, simply staring, surprised to see the fairy in the castle.

"You wanted to see me, your majesty?"

Standing, Aurora grabbed Maleficent's hand and drug her off to the side where no-one would hear her.

"Thank goodness you're here! I can't handle all these people by myself! Will you please help me?"

"I don't think it's my place...don't you have a council to help you with these situations?"

"I picked you, remember?"

"Ah...so you did. Alright then, beastie, I'll help you."

The tall fairy found herself enveloped in a hug immediately, before following the blond back to her throne and standing beside it. When Aurora opened her mouth to speak, one of the men in the crowd cut in.

"You need to do something, your majesty! You've heard all of our complaints and made no answers! Say something!"

Maleficent looked down at her goddaughter, and when she saw one single tear make it's way down her cheek, she addressed the crowd of people herself.

"All of you, out. The Queen will hear your problems and requests one at a time, and make a decision in turn."

"Why should we listen to you, witch?! You don't belong here!"

"Your Queen has chosen me as her council, therefore, you can either do as I say, or you will /not/ be seen."

With a collective grumble, and mumbling about the Queen's `poor choice in a council`, the crowd dispersed and stood outside the door, the guards following and forming a line. Phillip practically ran to his fiance's side, brushing away the tear that had fallen. Maleficent smiled at the boy, who returned it and stood next to her, a hand on the blond's shoulder. The fairy nodded at the guard inside the door once Aurora gave her the okay, and the first villager was allowed within the room again. Feeling much more at ease with Maleficent, Diaval, /and/ Phillip in the room with her, the meetings with individual villagers went well, until the very last one, with a man of about twenty.

"Your majesty, the farmers aren't doing their jobs! There are hardly enough crops to go around! I demand that the sick, and poor give up their food to those of us who actually make a difference in the kingdom!"

"Absolutely not! I won't have anyone starve just because they're sick, or have little money."

"You would see the ones who put forth an effort starve, just to save a few diseased dirt-rats?"

"No one is starving! I want any family with sick or malnourished members given extra food."

The guard standing beside her nodded, and turned to his counter-part, giving the order.

"You can't do that!"

"Technically, I can, and I did."

"You have NO business on that throne, you little brat!"

Maleficent's wings spread to their full span and she stepped in front of the blond when the young man started forward. He growled and charged, attempting to tackle the fairy to the ground. She simply gripped his wrist and stepped around behind him, taking his arm with her, the tip of her wing digging into his shoulder.

"If you EVER threaten that girl again, you will experience the most excruciating pain of your life. Is that perfectly clear?" She hissed, eyes flashing dangerously as green wisps of magic began to circle around her.

The young man stared up at her, fear dancing in his eyes, and he nodded hastily. The fairy stepped back and released him, though kept her wings spread in front of the young blond. When she growled at him, the youth took off running like there was a wild animal behind him. She shot a look to the guard at the door, who sent her a smirk and a nod, before informing the remaining few villagers to come back at a later time. Maleficent turned to face Aurora, who was simply staring in shock at the door, Phillip kneeling next to her to take her hand.

"Godmother..."

"Don't, beastie. No one will harm you as long as I live, remember? I made that promise and I intend to keep it."

The young Queen was out of her seat and had the fairy wrapped in a hug in seconds. The hug was returned, and only when Diaval approached did she release the blond so she could hug him as well. Her eyes caught sight of the rings situated on the pair's hands for the first time, and she turned confused eyes to them.

"What...when did you?"

"Diaval brought them home after he brought you here that night, beastie. He said you asked him about it again, and thought these might satisfy you."

"So, you're not married?"  
>"Not in human terms, no."<p>

Aurora sighed and shook her head before, dressed in their winter garments, the four stepped outside, Diaval making a face at the wind. Maleficent reached over and took his hand, sending him a smile as they walked around the kingdom, the young woman having wanted to see the state of her people personally. They passed many sick and homeless, who still sank to their knees in front of their ruler, and some of the more wealthy who didn't even spare a glance in her direction.

"You can see who your truly loyal subjects are, Aurora, and they're not the ones dressed in nice clothes."

It wasn't long before they passed a run-down, deteriorating shack, housing a family of eight. They heard strangled yells and sobs from within, and against her guard's insistence, the Queen pushed the door open and stepped inside, her godmother following close behind.

"Oh! Oh your majesty! What...what brings you to our filthy little hovel?"

"I...heard crying, and wanted to see if everything was alright."

"That's very kind of you. My poor son here has a broken leg, and no-one wants to help him because we have no money."

Aurora turned her gaze to the fairy behind her, who smiled and moved forward, kneeling down beside the boy.

"I'll see what I can do. My magic can heal most wounds and breaks..."

"Oh, you mean that, my lady?"

The fairy simply nodded and let her hands hover over the break in the young boy's leg, letting streams of golden magic flow from her fingers into his leg. As the bone started to pop and re-align, she added another stream of magic to lessen the pain as much as possible. She continued to let the magic flow until she no-longer heard the sound of grating bone, and they boy stopped crying as the pain vanished. His mother watched in awe as her son stood, gingerly testing his leg to see if it would bare weight.

"My goodness...it's a miracle! Oh, /thank you/ lady Maleficent! You truly are a kind soul."

The tall fairy found herself wrapped in a hug by tiny arms as the young boy ran to her and threw his arms around her neck. She blinked, and after a moment of hesitation, returned the hug.

"Don't allow him to strain it too much, or he could re-injure it very easily."

The mother nodded, and after thanking the fairy profusely again, she and Aurora left the house. Almost as soon as they got back to the castle later that day, the snow started to fall with a vengeance once again, causing Diaval to grumble at being kept away from their nest another night. Maleficent quieted him with a kiss, before resting her head on his chest as they settled down for the night in their borrowed room.

**AN: Ladies and gentlemen, I give you chapter twelve. Unfortunately, my updates may slow considerably, as I am starting clinical time in my Paramedic program at college. I will try to update at least weekly, but I can't make any promises, as my education will come before the story. I also want to give a big congratulations to the lovely Rose-Writer17 for the new addition to her family! Read and review! Reviews make me a happy wolf!**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Maleficent woke later that night, and finding herself unable to go back to sleep, the fairy got up from the bed and wandered out of the room, walking through the mostly empty halls of the castle. Every once in a while, she would come across one of the maids, one or two finally sending her a wary smile. Coming to the large window that overlooked the main yard, she frowned at seeing the same old woman struggling to take down some laundry in the blinding snow.

"She'll freeze to death out there..."

With a sigh, she moved down the stairs and out the door, approaching the woman, gently laying a hand on her shoulder. The old maid turned with a surprised gasp, more at seeing who was behind her than at the unexpected touch.

"You shouldn't be out here. It's far too cold."

"Well...these sheets aren't going to gather themselves..."

"Go inside before you freeze. I'll get it."

"Oh, I couldn't ask you to do that, my lady."

"You didn't. I offered."

When the fairy didn't seem to be taking no for an answer, the old woman /quickly/ made her way inside where she stood by the fire. Maleficent smiled a bit, and had all of the sheets down and folded in the woman's basket in no time, her wings shielding her from most of the cold snow. When she went back inside, she took the basket over and sat it down, a frown crossing her face again as the maid winced when she moved to retrieve it.

"Forgive me for saying so, but...you seem to be having some pain..."

"Oh, it's nothing. Just old age."

"If I may..."

The woman blinked as the fairy reached out and gently took her arm, guiding her to sit in one of the chairs. Although she insisted on having a job to do, the woman gave a sigh of relief once she was seated. Maleficent reached out and laid a gentle hand on her side, thin wisps of gold flowing.

"What's your name?"

"It's Martha, my lady."

"Please...it's just Maleficent."

As she let her magic flow into the woman's body to ease the pain, the two found themselves settling into a rather comfortable conversation, the fairy finding herself chuckling rather often. When she finished, she insisted on helping Martha by carrying the basket upstairs for her.

"I appreciate your help, really."

"It's no trouble at all. I'm not as evil as I made myself appear eighteen years ago."

"Anyone who would help an old woman with chores is certainly not evil." she said before falling into a coughing fit.

"Are you alright?"

"Oh it's nothing. I've been feeling a bit off these past few weeks, but I dare not mention it. I don't want the Queen to think me incapable of doing my job."

As the last sheet was placed in the closet, the fairy turned to smile at her, a knowing look in her eyes.

"Aurora would never think poorly of someone because they're sick."

After a bit more insistence from the younger woman, Martha agreed to speak to the blond the following day. Maleficent bid the woman goodnight after seeing to it that she got into bed, and headed back out into the hallway. It wasn't long until she found herself having another surprisingly pleasant conversation with one of the butlers who she ran into while wandering, the young man very curious about the Moors and the creatures that lived within. The fairy soon found herself standing in a room filled with paintings and tapestries.

"Beautiful, aren't they?"

"Shouldn't you be sleeping, beastie?"

A light chuckle escaped the young Queen as she walked forward to stand next to the other woman.

"Should be, but can't."

"Something bothering you?"

The blond moved to sit on one of the cushioned benches along the wall, letting out a sigh. Maleficent moved to sit next to her, laying a gentle hand on her knee.

"You know you can talk to me, Aurora."

For the next couple of hours, the young woman told her how she didn't know if she could run the kingdom alone, telling the fairy all of her concerns, and idea of turning the kingdom back over to her father, to which the Queen of the Moors vehemently opposed.

"Not everyone can handle the power that being a ruler holds. His want of that power is what drove him to steal my wings, betray my trust. You saw what it did to him in the end...and I don't think he's strong enough to resist it again."

"But...what if I can't do it? What if I..."

"You are a natural leader, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You have Phillip, who will soon be your husband, and don't forget Diaval and I."

Aurora sighed and sagged against her godmother's side, a wing wrapping around her in an offer of comfort.

"I don't know what I'd do without you, godmother."

"If I hadn't been around beastie, you wouldn't have /made/ it to eighteen."

The younger woman laughed a bit and let a large yawn claim her, to which Maleficent stood and walked the girl back to her room. Once she was in bed, the fairy kissed her forehead and left, pulling the door shut behind her. Her mind wandered on the way back to her room, and when she entered, she shook her head with a smile at seeing the raven hadn't moved an inch the whole time she'd been gone. Slipping out of the shoes she'd pulled on when she went walking, she slid back into bed next to him and closed her eyes. When he felt her warmth next to him, he shifted and pulled her into his arms, settling with his chin resting on top of her head. Maleficent ran a finger along his neck, tracing the scars there before letting her eyes close as well.

"I love you, birdie..."

A small grin curled her lips as she heard him mumble `love you too` in his sleep, pulling her closer. Finally succumbing to sleep again, the fairy relaxed against her raven's chest, listening to the sound of the wind howling outside.

**AN: I know this chapter is short compared to most of my others, but I'm extremely busy with college life. I didn't want to leave my faithful readers hanging for too long, so I wrote this to give you guys an update. I thought it was a nice, peaceful lead in to the chaos I have planned for future chapters. As always, review! Reviews make me a happy wolf!**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

When the sun came up the next morning, neither of the occupants of the bed seemed in a hurry to get up. Diaval grunted and shifted a bit, turning his face away from the window, nuzzling his face into the fairy's hair. Maleficent simply tightened her grip on him, grumbling at him to quit moving, to which he again grunted in response. After lying comfortably for another hour, the raven yawned and opened his eyes.

"Mmf...stupid sun..."

"Finally awake, eh?"

"Maleficent? How long have you been up?"

"Not long, maybe ten minutes."

She sat up and stretched, wings extending and stretching as well before curling against her back when she stood. Diaval mirrored her, getting up and looking out the window with a smile.

"Looks like the snow has stopped. Maybe we can finally go home?"

"Maybe." she said with a smile.

The fairy looked over at a knock on the door, and moved to pull it open, only to see Martha on the other side. Her eyebrow lifted a bit and she stepped back to let the woman into the room.

"Martha? Is everything..."

She was cut off as the older woman practically collapsed, her wings fluttering in surprise as she caught her.

"Oh no..."

With surprising strength, Maleficent picked the woman up and set off down the hall, Diaval following. The fairy practically kicked the door open to the healer's room, and gently deposited the woman on the bed. The healer went to work immediately, enlisting the aid of the winged woman as the raven took off to find Aurora. The blond was in the room in record time, two small children trailing behind her.

"Martha! Oh, what happened?"  
>"If I knew, beastie, I would tell you. She just collapsed...though she did tell me last night that she's been feeling ill for a few weeks...<br>"Why didn't she tell me?!"

"She didn't want you to think her incompetent."

Maleficent moved aside so the Queen could talk to the healer, only then noticing the children in the room.

"Is grandma going to be okay?"

"I'm sure she'll be fine. She's a strong lady."

Showing no aversion to the fairy, who'd knelt down to speak to them, both of them wrapped her in a tiny hug. After the shock wore off, she patted them on the head, still not quite sure how to interact with children. They released her, and moved over to the bed where they climbed up and sat next to Martha. The fairy stood up, and feeling Diaval's hand on her waist, turned to leave the room. The two of them moved over to one of the large windows in the hall and peered out at the snow-covered landscape.

"You alright?"

"Fine. Just not used to being hugged, I suppose."

He nodded and smiled, wrapping his arms around her and standing behind her, the woman's wings shifting to allow him to pull her back against his chest more comfortably. They stood there for a while, only moving when Aurora exited the room and walked over to them.

"The healer says she'll be okay. He said it's nothing life threatening, it's just affecting her more because she's older."

"Thank goodness. She's such a sweet woman..."

"Thank you, godmother. I have a feeling if she hadn't come to see you, we never would have known she was sick. Oh, and she told me how you helped her last night in the snow."

"Did she now?"

The woman smiled and looked out at the snow-covered ground and then back to Maleficent and Diaval.

"Will you two be going back to the moors?"

"Yes. No offense to you, but this castle just doesn't feel like home."

The blond nodded, and after promising to send word about Martha, and insisting they take a bag of heavier clothing, watched them fly back towards the Moors. It wasn't long after they landed that they were surrounded by the Moorfolk, all who had been worried when they hadn't returned for two days. Once they were left to themselves, Maleficent stashed the bag in the base of her tree to keep it dry and out of the snow. A startled gasp escaped the fairy as a large pile of snow fell from the branches of the tree, landing directly on her head. Peering up into the tree, she narrowed her eyes as she caught sight of Diaval resting his hands casually on the suspect branch.

"You little..."

"What? I didn't do it..."

The cheeky grin on the raven's face gave him away, and before long, he was running through the Moors, her chasing him, the sight causing laughter and smiles among her people. Finally catching up to him, she launched forward and wrapped her arms around him, tackling him into the snow. He let out a surprised laugh as he went down, landing face-first. Maleficent chuckled and rolled off him, sitting on a large tree-root next to him.

"Teach you to drop snow on me, birdie."

Diaval sat up and snorted, brushing some of the fluffy white substance off his shoulders and out of his hair. He looked over at her out of the corner of his eye, a smirk curling his lips before he looked past her to the warm water of the lake. The water nymphs kept it the perfect temperature in the winter, so their home didn't freeze solid. When she turned her head to see where he was looking, he moved forward and tackled her /into/ the warm water.

"Gotcha!"

"You bastard!" is all she got out before she splashed into the lake.

He laughed and waited for her to surface, which she did with a glare in his direction. His wide grin faded into a gentle smile, and he reached over to pull her against him.

"At least the water is warm."

"Yes, but now our clothes are wet."

Diaval blinked, and then a soft `shit` escaped him, to which the fairy chuckled. She shook her head and moved back, slowly working the soaked dress from her body before using her magic to start a fire on a small group of branches that had fallen from the trees. She laid the dress on a rock next to the fire so it could dry and warm at the same time, the raven soon following suit with his own clothes.

"Naughty birdie. You just wanted to get me naked, didn't you?"

"Well, that /wasn't/ the plan...but I'm certainly not complaining."

Maleficent rolled her eyes and moved over to him when he held his arms out to her.

"Of course you're not."

He chuckled and leaned forward to catch her in a gentle kiss, which she returned immediately. A soft sigh escaped him, and his arms closed around her waist, one hand gently stroking where her wing joined her back. The fairy shivered a bit, and shifted away from him with a grunt. Diaval lifted an eyebrow at her reaction, before following her and pulling her against him again.

"What was that?"

"I told you before...my wings are sensitive."

He smiled and let his hands again wander to where the wings attached to her skin, smile turning into a grin when she nearly growled at him. Peering over at the area where their clothes were drying, she pushed back again and moved over, reaching out to touch the dress.

"Well, that was quick."

The fairy pulled herself from the lake, and immediately pulled the dress back on, sitting down next to the fire as the raven did the same. Maleficent stretched, and before long, had the fire extinguished as the two of them moved back towards their tree. Once situated in the nest, she created a barrier of branches and thick leaves to help ward off the cold, before draping a wing over them as she settled against his chest as always.

"Can't wait until winter is over..."

"Me either, birdie."

Diaval pressed a kiss to her forehead and closed his eyes, letting the warmth of her feathers lull him to sleep. After a few minutes, she joined him, neither hearing the approach of some of the more sinister creatures that lived in the moors.

**AN: Figured a little more peace for our couple was in order before things start going to hell in a handbasket. Lots of chaos is coming your way, my faithful readers! Enjoy! Reviews make me a happy wolf!  
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	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Maleficent woke to find herself seemingly trapped inside a large, clear bubble, in an area of the Moors she never dared venture to. As the fog of sleep slowly cleared from her mind, her eyes widened and she extended her wings, trying to break free of her prison. A high-pitched laugh was the only thing that greeted her efforts, a small, beautiful creature coming into her line of sight.

"Well...if it isn't Lady Maleficent. What brings you here..."

"Release you, you foul creature!"

"Oh, no no, we can't do that. You see, we don't like it when others are happy. Happiness is...over rated, by far."

The fairy let out a near feral growl-like sound, again trying to free herself by extending and flapping her wings.

"It's useless. That bubble won't break, and the only way out, is for one of us to release you. We don't plan on doing that any time soon."

The female creature outside the bubble waved her hand, and a vision came into view on the prison's surface. It showed Diaval, laying in the nest with what appeared to be her. When he woke, he smiled and pressed a kiss to the imitation's forehead, only to have her shove him away and leave the nest.

"No...don't you /dare/ hurt him!"

"Just be silent, and watch, as your life is changed forever."

Diaval blinked, before he left the nest and followed her, confusion playing across his face as plain as day.

"Maleficent?"

"If you plan on following me, speed up. I don't have all day."

"Ah...alright?"

The raven sped up his pace, soon coming to walk beside her, where he reached out to take her hand, only to have her pull away and peer at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Touchy today, are we? Did I do something wrong?"

"Do you ever just...be quiet?"

Again allowing a /very/ confused look to cross his face, he reached out and gripped her arm lightly to stop her. `Maleficent` turned to shoot him a cold glare before pulling her arm out of his hand.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Me? You're the one who's acting so odd..."

"I'm not in the mood, Diaval."

"Ah...alright?"

He continued to walk with her, lifting an eyebrow as she passed by a severely broken sapling, and didn't even bother to heal it as she usually would. As the day went on, she continued to behave oddly, almost like she had when she'd been consumed with hatred for Stefan. Every time he asked her about her behavior, she would snap at him, or send him a bone-chilling glare, even telling him to leave. This continued for nearly two weeks, her attitude and temper getting worse each day, before Aurora braved the snow to come and visit them. When the blond arrived, Diaval warned her of the fairy's odd actions, before she joined them near her tree.

"Aurora. What are you doing here?"

"I thought I would come visit and see how you were doing, godmother. Oh! Martha wanted me to tell you she was alright, as well."

"And I give a shit about this Martha, why?"

"What? You...you're the one who got her help when she was sick..."

"Why would I care for a human?"

"You care for me, don't you? I'm human..."

"Do I?"

Aurora simply gaped, open-mouthed at the woman who had been her only motherly figure aside from the dim-witted pixies who'd raised her. Diaval grunted and looked over out of the corner of his eye as if to say, "I told you", before turning his gaze back to the fairy.

"Are you...are you sick? You've never been this way with me..."

"Are you truly that daft, child? I cursed you when you were a baby, remember?"

"But YOU woke me up! How is this...why are you being so mean?!"

The Queen reached out to grip the woman's hand, and the moment they touched, she was rewarded with a sharp slap. Tears filled her eyes, and she stood, immediately fleeing the Moors, leaving Diaval to glare at the fairy.

"What the /hell/ is wrong with you!? Have you gone completely mad?!"

"If you care so much, go live with her, you stupid bird!"

"Maybe I will...you are /not/ the woman I fell in love with...I want nothing to do with you if this is your true nature."

As the raven fled as well, shifting and flying towards the castle, a cruel smirk curled `Maleficent`'s lips, and she took to the skies to return to her home.

Back in her prison, the real Maleficent could only watch, wide-eyed as her lover and goddaughter both ran, tears building in her eyes. The other version of her flew into view, and quickly shifted back into one of the same female creatures guarding her, and laughed.

"Well...that was /fun/! I wonder...how else can we ruin your life?"

"You bitch! Why are you doing this to me?!"

"We told you. Your happiness is disgusting. We want the Moors to be like it was before, when you were evil and angry!"

The fairy gave a strangled scream when she yet again failed to break free, finally sagging against the back of the bubble she was suspended in. The creatures in front of her laughed, and vanished from view, leaving her alone with her thoughts, and the fear of what they may do. Years passed by like days for the imprisoned fairy, and she was forced to watch the destruction that her copy caused. Maleficent was helpless to do anything, trapped as she was, and the sights that greeted her every day broke her heart. Diaval had apparently moved on, as he could regularly be seen in the company of a young female raven, and Aurora had all but banned mention of the Moors and her name in her kingdom. War once again raged between the humans and the fairyfolk, and it wasn't long before the full force of the human army was sent against them.

"Isn't the chaos lovely!"

"What have you done...everything I've worked for...the trust I'd gained...you've destroyed all of it..."

"Mmm, seems like you're finally broken. I think we can let you go now, no chance repairing all this damage! You're welcome to try!"

The fairy found herself on the ground in moments, her body aching from lack of movement. When she looked up to find the things that had destroyed her life, they were gone. She stood slowly, and when she emerged from the depths of the forest, the sight she saw brought her to her knees with a sob. The moors were gone, only ashes and remnants of trees left to even let anyone know they had existed. The inhabitants were nowhere to be found, save a few bodies that laid on the ground, covered in ash.

"No...this...this can't be real. Please.../please/ let this be a horrible nightmare..."

The fairy leaned against the remnant of a tree that was next to her, and let her sobs escape into the charred bark. Only when she looked up did she realize the tree she was leaning against, was hers, the tree she'd shared with Diaval, curled into his side as they slept. The thought of the raven caused another heart-wrenching cry to escape her, as she realized she'd lost the only man who'd truly loved her.

"I...I have to make this right. I have to at least try."

With a great amount of effort, she stood, and extended her wings, stretching the soreness out of them before taking to the sky. She flew towards Aurora's castle, and then, instead of continuing on her way, she landed.

"What am I going to do. If I go to the castle...they'll kill me, I'm sure of it. If I do nothing..."

Deciding trying to convince the Queen that it wasn't her who'd betrayed them, the fairy started towards the castle again, opting to walk instead of fly. The moment she crossed into the blond's kingdom, she was met with gasps and screams of terror, as well as the points of nearly a dozen swords and spears. Maleficent raised her hands in a gesture of surrender, tucking her wings tight against her back, just in case.

"What are you doing here, witch? After everything you've done, you /dare/ show your face here?!"

"Please...I need to speak to Aurora..."

After glancing to one another, the guards led her to the castle, only two of them sheathing their weapons to hold her arms. Once inside, she was pushed to her knees in front of the blond, who looked shocked to see her.

"You...what do you want..."

"Aurora...I...needed to see you, to tell you that I didn't do this!"

"She certainly /looked/ and /sounded/ like you!"

"It WASN'T me! You know I would never hurt you...please, beastie."

"Don't call me that!"

Maleficent flinched visibly at the tone of the normally gentle girl's voice, it was harsh and cold. The Queen stood, and only then did the fairy notice the young man sitting at her side, as well as the roundness of her stomach.

"You...you're having a child..."

"That's right. Going to curse my baby too?"

She turned her gaze to the ground, not trusting herself to look up without allowing the tears building in her eyes to fall. When she spoke, her voice was soft and broken.

"Of course not...I would never."

"Leave. Don't you ever come back here. If you do...you'll be killed."

The woman's words struck her straight in the heart, hurting more than a thousand iron swords ever could. When she lifted her head, she caught sight of Diaval standing off to one side of the room, and she had to stop herself from reaching out to him. Their gazes locked for but a moment before he looked away and set his jaw.

"Diaval...Diaval you know I didn't do this! You know I wouldn't! Say something!"

The raven remained silent, and Maleficent found herself carted outside and thrown from the castle grounds. Once she righted herself, she stared up at the gate, driving her fist into the dirt below her. Whispers suddenly seemed to surround the fairy, and she looked around her at all the villagers, some wielding rocks, others with iron shovels and pitchforks. Tearing her eyes away from them, she rocketed into the sky and back towards what was left of her home. Landing near the remnants of her tree, she crawled inside the hollow in the charred trunk, curling her knees to her chest and burying her face in the fabric of her dress. Her wings wrapped around her, the feathers doing little to comfort her as she cried herself to sleep.

**AN: CHAOS! Poor Maleficent. I'm such a bitch! *points at my muse* It's her fault, not mine! *flails* Anywho! How will our favorite fairy fix this one? Can she fix this one? Is Diaval gone forever, and can Aurora ever believe that it wasn't really her godmother who started this new war? Read on to find out! Reviews make me a happy wolf.**

**AN #2: I know I kinda kicked this off fast, but I didn't really want to write two years of Maleficent being imprisoned, AGAIN, so please, no flames.  
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	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Maleficent was awakened later that night by the sound of hoofbeats approaching where she was inside the tree. Blinking, the fairy stepped out into the ash covering the ground, looking around, and seeing four horses headed her way. Before she could turn and fly off, however, she felt an arrow pierce her skin. Confusion immediately flooded her mind, as the strike hadn't actually hurt, she'd simply felt the pressure of it. Reaching back, she pulled it from her skin, and lifted an eyebrow when she saw very little blood on the arrow, hearing the man readying a second.

"I've gone crazy."

Her wings snapped out to the sides as anger caused her feathers to bristle, and she turned, sending the arrow flying back towards her assailant with a burst of green magic. As it struck him, he fell backwards off his horse, the arrow he'd readied sailing into the air and striking his companion in the back of the neck. The fairy immediately flew up into the air, trying not to let her emotions get the better of her as she again took in the destruction before her. She flew towards the highest cliff in sight, landing and pushing herself as far from the edge as possible, eventually finding a crack in the stone that the cliff backed up against. Once settled in the small cave, she clenched her eyes shut, hoping that when she opened them again she would be back in her nest with Diaval's arms around her.

Maleficent leaned her head back against the stone behind her, only allowing herself to sleep once she couldn't hear the humans hunting her anymore. Days passed, and the fairy stayed in her little cave, not moving for anything, hardly able to keep herself awake. As she finally closed her eyes again to succumb to the sweet abyss of sleep, she heard a voice calling her name. Her eyes snapped open again when she recognized the voice; it was her raven. Struggling to right herself, she quickly pushed her way out of the stone cave, moving to the edge of the cliff and casting her eyes over the landscape.

"Diaval...he's...trying to find me?"

When she couldn't see him, she spread her wings and took to the sky, immediately regretting it as the lengthy time without food caused her normally strong wings to fail, and send her plummeting from the sky. She hit the ground, wincing as the impact knocked the breath from her lungs. Once she was able, she stood and began to stumble through the remnants of the Moors, searching for him, trying to follow his voice.

"Diaval!"

The raven seemed to be getting closer to her, and she stopped, closing her eyes and focusing on him. Maleficent jumped as she suddenly heard his voice again, coming from right beside her, but he himself was nowhere to be seen. Her brow furrowed when she listened to his words, confusion again fighting it's way into her brain.

"Let her go, now!"

A high pitched laugh responded to him, followed by a scream and a loud growl. An odd gurgling noise followed the growl, and when she opened her eyes again, her vision wavered. She shook her head, leaning against the charred tree beside her, everywhere she looked seemed to be shifting with the wind that started to blow. The odd noise stopped, and suddenly, everything went black, and all she heard was the sound of Diaval calling her name again.

"Maleficent! Wake up!"

The blackness of her vision slowly began to lighten again, letting her make out vague shapes and colors. Her hearing slowly returned to normal as well, the muffled sounds of Diaval begging her to wake up becoming clear. The fairy clenched her eyes shut, and when she opened them again, everything was clear, and she saw the /extremely/ worried face of her raven hovering above her.

"Oh thank god..."

"Diaval...what...where am I..."

The bird helped her sit up, and she gaped at seeing herself still within the same deep part of the Moors she thought she'd escaped from. Looking to her left, she saw the lifeless body of one of the creatures that had captured her, and then turned her eyes back to Diaval.

"It...it wasn't real...it was a nightmare."

"You've been gone for almost a week...I thought you might have gone to see Aurora, but when you weren't there..."

The raven was cut off as she practically threw her arms around his neck and pulled him close, closing her eyes with a sigh. Diaval blinked before wrapping his arms around her in return, kissing the top of her head.

"Can you walk?"

"I think so..."

He nodded and helped her stand, holding onto her until she was steady on her feet. Once he released her arms, she wobbled a bit, and he chuckled, picking her up.

"You can walk, huh?"

"Well...I thought I could. I don't know what the hell that was...but I'm glad it's over."

"What did they do to you? The Moors are going crazy out here."

"They...I don't know, actually. It felt so real...you were gone and Aurora hated me...the Moors were destroyed, war was happening again..."

"I would /never/ leave you, you know that. Aurora couldn't hate you if she tried."

She closed her eyes and leaned her head against his shoulder, letting the hand on his back run through the hair at the base of his neck, reassuring herself that he was really there. Before long, he had them back at their tree, and sat her down near the base, going about building a fire. She cocked an eyebrow at him and he shot her a smile.

"You're not flying when you can't even walk. We'll stay down here for now."

"I need to see Aurora..."

"Maleficent..."

"Please, just go get her."

Diaval looked apprehensive about leaving her alone, but the look in her eyes finally got to him, and he nodded. Shifting into his raven self, he flew towards the castle to retrieve the Queen. The fairy leaned back against the tree and let her wings wrap around her, letting the feathers calm her still frantic mind. Suddenly realizing the Moors seemed to be unharmed, she forced herself to fly, looking around and giving a sigh of relief that nothing seemed to be harmed. Slowly lowering back to the ground, she let herself fully relax, closing her eyes. It took a couple hours for the blond to reach her, and when she did, she immediately found herself wrapped in a hug by the fairy.

"Diaval told me what happened...are you alright?"

"I'll be fine."

"Oh godmother...you know I'd never hate you."

A soft chuckle escaped her and she nodded, releasing the young woman from her hug.

"I hope I didn't have him wake you."

"It's alright. Martha wanted me to tell you hi, by the way. She's perfectly fine thanks to you."

When she noticed Aurora starting to yawn, she had Diaval take the blond back to the castle, and when he returned, she was sound asleep against the tree. He chuckled and settled himself next to her, pulling her against his side where her wings wrapped around both of them.

**AN: I know, I know, I'm horrible. Some /actual/ chaos will be coming soon, I promise. I know this chapter is short, but I wanted to post it while I had the chance today. Clinicals are killing me! Reviews make a happy wolf!**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Maleficent didn't stay asleep long, as the nightmare she'd been forced to endure came back to haunt her every time she closed her eyes, and she'd jolt awake every time. Giving a low sigh, she leaned her head back against the tree behind her, rubbing the bridge of her nose. Diaval shifted next to her, and then she felt his hand taking her own.

"Same dream, huh?"

"Unfortunately."

The raven squeezed her hand before slipping his arm around her shoulders again, blinking when she shifted to lay her head in his lap. The hand that had been raised to pull her close fell to rest on her head, gently stroking her hair. Knowing the fairy wouldn't be able to fall asleep again any time soon, he stayed awake as well, the two of them chatting idly about whatever popped into their heads.

"Just because I can't sleep, doesn't mean you shouldn't, birdie."

"I don't like you being awake alone..."

"Just go to sleep, Diaval."

He huffed and shook his head, refusing to sleep, until his body forced him to do what he was trying to avoid. With a sigh, Maleficent let her eyes wander the area around them, watching as a few piles of snow fell from the trees. Even as he slept Diaval's fingers moved on their own, combing through her hair and brushing over the base of her horns. A small smile curled her lips and she allowed her eyes to slip shut, the gentle touch of his hand relaxing her mind. It wasn't long until she'd fallen victim to the clutches of sleep again, and was once more caught in a nightmare. When she woke this time, however, she managed not to wake the raven beside her.

"This is ridiculous...there must be something I can do..." She muttered, sitting up slowly and rubbing her neck.

Refusing to give in to her body's demand for sleep, she reached over and gently woke Diaval, letting him know she was going for a walk so he didn't worry. When he moved to stand, she put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head, insisting he stay and rest.

"You're the one who needs rest..."

"I know...I just can't."

With a sigh, he relented, watching her stand and walk off through the snow-covered Moors. Once she was out of sight, he shifted into his raven form and followed, knowing if she spotted him she'd more than likely yell at him. As she walked, she knelt and healed a small plant that had been crushed by a mis-placed footstep. The moment she stopped moving, her eyes drooped, and she forced them open again before continuing her walk. Diaval felt his feathers bristle in anger and he flew off to find the creature that had escaped him. Maleficent sighed and returned to the tree, only to frown when she found the raven gone. Said raven had spotted the thing he was looking for, and landed, transforming into his human form and pinning her to a stone with a hand at her neck.

"I don't know what the hell you did to her, but you ARE going to fix it!"

"And why would I do that?"

"If you don't, I'll be sure to kill you. Slowly."

"You don't scare me, bird boy."

He growled, and his body again started to shift, and his dragon form soon stood over the female creature, his front leg on her chest. Her eyes widened and she tried to wiggle out from under his foot, which only pressed down harder. He lowered his head and curled his lips back, baring his razor sharp teeth.

"I can't reverse it! We only know how to /cause/ the nightmares, not how to reverse them! There is another in the Moors who could help, but it comes with a price!"

She told him of an ancient wizard that lived even deeper in the lands, one who could solve nearly any problem for a price. According to the chaos fairy, the price was usually far too high for anyone to seek his aid. Diaval snarled, and once she'd finished, he opened his mouth and released fire, burning her to a crisp before shifting back into a bird and flying back to the tree. Once there, he changed back into a man, and winced at seeing her sitting with her arms crossed, shooting him a stern look.

"Where did you fly off to?"

"I found that...thing...that did this to you. She told me of a way we might be able to cure you of the nightmares..."

"Oh? And what might that be?"

"She said there's this old wizard that lives deeper in the Moors that-"

"Absolutely not."

"What?"

"The last person to ask him for help ended up giving their life in return. I will /not/ allow you go to him for me, not when I could lose you."

"Maleficent..."

"NO. I can live with nightmares...I can't live without you. Promise me...promise me you won't go."

His eyes softened at hearing the sincere admission from the fairy, and he sat next to her, pulling her into his arms. She laid her head against his shoulder and slipped her arms around him in return.

"Alright...I promise."

"Thank you..."

"I love you..."

"I love you, too, birdie."

He smiled against her temple and held her close as the sun rose over the horizon. The two of them decided to spend the day at Aurora's castle, mostly at Maleficent's insistence. When they arrived, the blond smiled and gave them both a warm hug, the trio moving into the main hall to sit by the fire.

"I'm glad you decided to come see me, godmother. I have something to tell you."

The fairy looked over at the young Queen and lifted an eyebrow in silent question, even Diaval looking quite curious.

"Philip and I have decided on a date for our wedding. I would love it if you both were there."

A grin curled her lips, and the raven seemed to mirror it, causing Aurora to laugh. Once she gave them the day and time, both of them gave her their word they would be there. As they sat by the warmth of the fire, the fairy felt her eyes begin to droop, and forced herself awake again when she felt her head bump against Diaval's shoulder. The blond looked over, concern plain as day in her eyes, to which Maleficent simply smiled.

"You look exhausted..."

"I...haven't been sleeping well."

"She hasn't been sleeping at all."

The raven grunted when he felt an elbow in his side, and shot the fairy a dirty look. She leveled him with a look before letting a sigh escape her, again leaning against his side, the look Aurora was giving them saying they had some explaining to do.

"It's nothing, beastie."

"Bull shit."

The blunt response from the young Queen caused Diaval to laugh, and the fairy to stare at her. A light blush rose on her cheeks, and she averted her eyes for all of a second before again leveling her godmother with the same look.

"Alright. When I sleep...I'm caught in that damn nightmare again. Everything is gone. It causes absolute chaos in my mind...I feel like I'm going crazy."

For the first time since Diaval had found her, she allowed herself to relive everything in order to explain it to both of them as best she could. By the end of the story, Aurora had tears in her eyes and the raven was silently cheering that he'd killed both of the creatures that had done such a thing, rather painfully, at that.

"Is there nothing your magic can do to help you?"

"Unfortunately no, I've tried. That old wizard is the only one who could help me, and it's not worth the risk involved with him."

"You can't go without sleep forever, though."

"I know. Eventually I'll get tired enough to sleep through the dream. It won't be pleasant, but...it'll happen. Soon, if I keep going like this."

The three of them spent the entire day with the young blond, and only when the sun began to sink did they return to the Moors. It was three days before the fairy could no longer function, and fell into the arms of sleep. The nightmare again claimed her mind, but her body refused to let her awaken until it got the sleep it was lacking. Diaval simply held her close as she shook, a frown etched onto her lips as she had no choice but to endure the horrific dream. When she finally woke, however, the raven was nowhere in sight, and she quickly sat up, looking around for him.

"Diaval?"

A pained caw was her only response, and she stood, walking towards where she'd heard the sound. As she walked, her eyes caught sight of a bright red trail on the pristine white snow.

"Blood..."

Following her instincts as well as the trail, she came to a small clearing in the trees, and what she saw caused her blood to run cold. There, lying in the middle of the clearing in a puddle of his own blood, was her raven. Her body remained frozen in place for all of a minute before she rushed to his side and fell to her knees next to him.

"Diaval! Oh god...what happened to you..."

Maleficent examined his body, wincing when she saw the extent of his wounds. She could tell almost immediately that his worst wound had been caused by a sword or large knife, also noting that his left wing was badly broken. With a shaking hand, she reached down and stroked the feathers of his neck, choking back a cry when his blood soaked her fingers. She hovered her hand over his wound, a lone tear slipping down her cheek as her magic failed to heal him.

"I...I have to get you help, I don't care what he takes from me."

Gently scooping the injured bird into her arms, she took to the sky, flying towards a dark part of the Moors. Almost as soon as they crossed into it, she could feel the strong magic on her body. The fairy landed next to what appeared to be a large stone wall, calling out as loudly as she could.

"Lord Vincent! I come to seek your aid!"

A loud groan met her ears as the entire wall seemed to shift and move, the form of a large stone golem revealing itself to her. The creature's eyes glowed a bright blue, the glow running down it's body through the cracks in the stone.

"Who disturbs me after centuries of slumber?"

"Please, my lord, my name is Maleficent."

"Ahhh, yes. Queen of the Moors. What brings you here, child?"

The fairy knelt down and placed the gravely injured raven on a stone before standing again and gazing up at the massive stone creature.

"My lover needs help. I tried to heal him myself, but I was unable to close his wounds."

"This bird is your lover? An odd choice, don't you think?"

"I didn't come to talk about my choice in a mate, I came for your help!"

The stone holding Diaval's prone form lifted from the ground, raising to eye-level with the golem. He lifted a massive hand and hovered it over the raven's body, a grunt escaping him.

"His wounds are too grave to heal. The only way to save him, would be to change his nature, make him one of the fairfolk. As you well know, child, my aid comes with a price."

"I know. Name what you want, and it will be yours."

"What I ask from you...is something you hold dear to your heart. Something that has already been torn away from you once."

Maleficent froze as her wings extended of their own accord, and she shifted her gaze to them.

"My wings..."

"That's correct, child. If you want your lover to live, you must give up your wings."

The fairy reached back to stroke the feathers lovingly before letting her hand drop to rest on her shoulder.

"If it will save his life...take them."

The golem gave a sound similar to an amused chuckle, and lowered the stone to the ground again, standing at his full height and motioning Maleficent to rise into the air. She did so without hesitation, hovering at eye level with Vincent.

"It is rare, to see one so willing to give of themselves to save someone else. I admire your determination, Queen of the Moors. I will try to make the loss as painless as I can."

The stone creature hovered one hand above her, and the other above the prone raven. A shaft of bright blue light encased them both, and Maleficent gave a pained scream as she felt her wings slowly begin to break down. She watched as her precious wings were pulled from her, and then forced her eyes to Diaval's form. The bright light obscured him from view, the fairy only able to watch as his outline shifted and changed into the form of a man, a dark shape spreading out behind him on the stone. She felt herself slowly lowered to the ground, the golem setting her gently on her feet as the light slowly dissipated. The pain of losing her wings for a second time caused her to fall to her knees, watching as the light around her raven faded completely. Her heart sped up when he shifted, sitting up with a groan, holding a hand to his head. Jet black wings extended behind him, causing him to turn shocked eyes back towards them.

"Wha..."

"Diaval...you're alive..."

**AN: There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Chapter 17! What will Diaval think about his new self? What will he think of Maleficent giving up her wings to save him? Read on to find out! Reviews make me a happy wolf! I have 2 weeks off school starting Christmas Eve, so I'll try and update on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, depending on what the family has planned!**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

His confused eyes shifted to her, immediately noticing that her large, brown wings were gone. When he stood, he overbalanced and fell face-first into the ground, Maleficent moving over to his side to pull him up again.

"What's going on...why do I have wings, and where are yours?"

"I'll explain back at the tree..."

Diaval grunted and walked with her, noting the fairy stumbling every now and then. It took the two of them hours to get back to the tree, as the area where they had been was one of the furthest into the Moors. Once there, she sat down at the base on a raised tree-root and winced when she allowed her back to touch the bark. Wasting no time, and seeing the sad confusion in the man's eyes, she began to explain.

"You were injured, badly. My magic was useless, believe me, I tried healing you myself first. I...took you to Vincent, the ancient one who lives deep in the Moors, and he said he could save you. The only way, however, was to make you into one of us, a fairy. As I told you, his aid comes with a price...and his price was my wings."

"Maleficent...you...gave up your wings to save me? Why?"

"Because you mean more to me than having wings. I would have given him anything, even my life, to save you."

"Wait...you /forbid/ me from going to him to cure you of your nightmares!"

"I did. Nightmares are tolerable, and can be lived with. Without him I would have lost you, Diaval. I wouldn't have gone myself if there was another option."

"I...I don't know what to say..."

"Then don't say anything."

The woman pressed herself against his side, laying her head against his shoulder, only wincing a bit when his arm brushed over her back. He pressed his lips against her forehead, his new wings curling around them out of instinct, causing him to blink and look over them.

"They're beautiful."

She blinked and looked up at him with a smile and a slight nod, careful not to poke him with her horns as he pulled her closer.

"Yes...yes they are."

"I'm sorry...if I hadn't been so foolish..."

"Shh. What's done is done, and nothing can change it."

Diaval sighed and rested his chin on top of her head, his mind reeling from everything he'd been told. He was no longer a raven, but a magical fairy like her, and he found himself coming up with questions to ask of her.

"Aurora is going to have a fit when she sees you again, you know."

"I know."

Finally deciding to move up to the nest to get out of the snow, Maleficent faltered when she went to spread her wings, giving a sigh and climbing up instead. Diaval could only watch sadly as she finally got in and settled against the soft moss as he joined her.

"Guess you're stuck being my wings forever, now..."

Instead of responding with words, he pulled her close, catching her lips in a gentle, loving kiss. She returned his kiss before curling against his side with her head resting in the curve of his shoulder.

"Aurora's wedding is in two days. Are you sure you want to go?"

"Of course I'm going. Don't think I'd let the little beast get married without me, do you?"

A soft chuckle escaped him and he ran his fingers through her hair, trying to ease the pain of losing something so close to her heart, for the second time.

"So...if I'm a fairy now...does that mean I have magic?"

"Of course you do. All fairfolk have magic of some sort, why don't you give it a try?"

He lifted his free hand, gazing at it in awe as dark purple wisps curled around his fingers as he concentrated. Lifting her head as well, she watched as the purple wound around his hand and arm, an eyebrow lifting. Extending his hand towards the ground, he grinned a bit as a brand new plant emerged, immediately turning into a beautiful flowered bush.

"The magic of creation...that's a rare one to have."

"Really? Can't you do this?"

"No. I can only heal, or destroy, what's already here, not create something out of nothing."

"So even as a fairy I'm an oddity, huh?"

Maleficent gave a light laugh, shaking her head before letting it return to it's resting place on his shoulder. Letting his magic dissipate, he lowered his hand to rest on his chest, turning his eyes towards the sky, a bit anxious to try his new wings.

"Go on."

"But...you..."

"Just go, Diaval. It's alright."

After a bit of hesitation, not waning to leave her alone, he nodded and stood, wings extending before propelling him up into the air. A laugh escaped him and he flew around the tree in circles, causing her to roll her eyes and then wince as she moved wrong. The woman sat up and let her hand move to her shoulder, a brief flash of sadness passing through them at the thought of never flying again. She chased it away the moment he landed again, settling back beside her with a smile. The two of them stayed curled together in the nest the rest of the day and night, Maleficent just not feeling up to walking around in the snow.

She spent the next two days showing him how to hone his magic, the man showing unexpected skill with it, before they headed to the castle for the wedding. Diaval insisted on carrying her while he flew, and despite her initial fear of not being able to catch herself should she fall, she allowed him to do so. When they landed, they were shown into the main hall, and Maleficent was whisked away to Aurora's room, the blond insisting that the fairy be her maid of honor.

"Oh, godmother! You...your wings..."

"Later. You, my little beastie, have a wedding to get ready for."

The room was a flurry of motion, the maids and seamstresses fluttering about, getting the Queen ready. She found herself pounced upon by three of them, preparing her to stand at the blond's side as she wed the young prince. By the time they were done, the fairy had to restrain the urge to growl at them, but when she turned and saw Aurora, a smile wound onto her lips.

"You look beautiful, Aurora..."

A blush bloomed on the young woman's face, along with a shy smile quite unlike her. The two were left alone to talk, the fairy refusing to speak of the absence of her wings, not wanting the Queen to cry, promising to tell her after everything concluded. The main hall was buzzing with excitement, which only quieted when everyone was in their place and they were awaiting the blond's appearance. The large doors at the back of the room opened, and she entered, led by Stefan to where Philip stood. After a threat of bodily harm should the young prince ever hurt her, the former King kissed her forehead and moved to sit. It seemed like forever before the ceremony concluded, and everyone was left to mingle while the new couple changed out of their wedding clothes. Maleficent rested a hand on Diaval's shoulder when she returned, wanting to be out of the hideous color the maids had put her in.

"She looked lovely."

"That she did, and so did you."

It wasn't long before the newly wed pair re-joined their guests, the blond making a bee-line for her godmother. The fairy shook her head at the determined look in the young woman's eyes, and prepared to relate what had happened. Aurora, Philip, herself and Diaval moved into a smaller room, and the horned woman told them what had happened. At the end, Aurora was in tears, as predicted, and Philip was simply staring, dumbstruck. The blond wiped her tears away and turned her eyes to Diaval, who was sitting with a very guilty look on his face. Maleficent reached over and laid her hand on his leg with a smile, which caused him to smile a bit as well.

"I'd do it all again if I had to."

"Maleficent..."

She shushed him with a finger on his lips before turning her eyes back to Aurora and Philip, the new King with his arm around his wife's shoulders.

"As for you, young man...you better take good care of my little beastie here."

"You have my word on that, my lady."

Smiling at the bright red blush that covered Aurora's cheeks, the fairy leaned over and kissed her forehead, chuckling when the blush only grew. After the blond had her emotions back in control, they re-joined the guests where they shared their first dance as husband and wife. Diaval extended his hand to Maleficent with a smile, and she rolled her eyes before taking it.

"You truly don't want your feet to survive long, do you?"

"You're not as bad as you think. Last time you only stepped on me twice."

She chuckled and the two of them shared a dance as well, though had to catch him a few times as he was still getting used to the extra weight of his wings. As the current music came to an end, he led her out onto the balcony of the large main hall and pulled her close, looking up at the moon. Maleficent leaned back against him, only wincing slightly as her back pressed against his chest.

"Does it hurt a lot?"

"Not horribly, no. I'm sure I'll always get aches, but it's alright."

Lifting his hands from her waist, he laid them on her shoulders and rubbed gently, coaxing a gentle sigh from her as her eyes closed. Diaval leaned down and pressed a light kiss to the back of her neck, causing her to open one eye to a slit and peer back at him. He grinned and kissed her nose as well when she did, causing her to yet again roll her eyes.

"What's on your mind, birdie?"

"Just thinking...maybe a human wedding wouldn't be such a bad thing."

"Oh lord...what has Aurora gotten into that brain of yours."

"What? Are you /that/ opposed to it?"

Instead of answering, she turned in his arms and rested her hands on his shoulders with a light smile. His arms moved down to wrap around her waist, and he leaned down again to catch her lips this time. She chuckled and returned his kiss, arms winding around his neck fully, fingers brushing his feathers. A light shiver raced down the man's spine, and he pulled back slightly, blinking down at her.

"What was /that/."

"I told you. A fairy's wings are /very/ sensitive."

"Yeah...I'd say...holy crap."

Maleficent snorted and smirked at him, again running her fingers through the jet black feathers of his wings. Said wings shuddered a bit before folding tight against his back as he shot a look down at her, causing her to laugh again.

"Ah, forgive me. It's been a long time since I've had the opportunity to touch another fairy's feathers. If you haven't noticed, there aren't any others in the Moors."

Diaval grunted and shifted a bit, looking over when Aurora and Philip joined them, before pulling his mate back against him. Maleficent smirked a bit when she felt him pressed up against her back, the reason for his shifting all to obvious to her.

"It's such a beautiful night! Oh, why don't we all go for a walk!"

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea, beastie."

The young King immediately agreed, and Diaval shot the fairy a half-hearted glare as he discreetly tried to adjust himself so his issue wouldn't be visible to anyone who looked at him. Another light snort escaped her, and once she was certain he was alright, moved away to take his hand and follow the other two out into the massive garden. Once there, they sat on two of the small stone benches, the blond cuddled into her husband's side with a smile.

"You two look good together."

"Thank you, godmother. You and Diaval are quite adorable too!"

The horned fairy smiled and peered over at him out of the corner of her eye, barely biting back a laugh at the uncomfortable look on his face. Aurora noticed as well and immediately looked concerned.

"Are you alright, Diaval? You look like you're in pain..."

The Queen's comment caused Maleficent to give in and break into laughter, leaning back against the wall behind her for support. Diaval grunted, and after assuring Aurora he was fine, reached over and pulled her tight against him, whispering in her ear.

"You...are SO gonna get it when we get back to the Moors..."

The horned fairy felt a shudder race down her spine at his words and the tone of his voice, all laughter stopping rather abruptly. When he released his death grip on her waist, she leaned away enough to look up at him, her green eyes seeming to darken a shade.

"Promises, promises."

As if suddenly remembering they weren't alone, Maleficent turned her eyes back to the pair of blond and brunette, who were staring at them in confusion.

"What on earth did he say to you?"

"Nothing for you to worry about, little beastie."

Blinking, she shrugged, opting not to go further with her questioning of their odd behavior, at which Diaval sighed in relief. All too soon, the guests of the wedding began to dissipate, heading home for the night, the pair of fairy's included. They said goodbye to Aurora, and Diaval had them home in record time, pulling her into a passionate kiss the moment they landed in the nest.

"You...are evil."

"Never claimed not to be, now did I?"

Discreetly working a little magic behind her back, Maleficent soon found herself /on/ her back in the nest, little vines securing her hands above her head, at which she blinked.

"Well now..."

"I warned you, didn't I?"

A feral grin curled the man's face as he knelt over her, his normally dark eyes flashing a bright, yet dark purple. The horned fairy took a deep breath and peered up at him, her own eyes flashing green in response as his wings spread out behind him.

**AN: I'm such an ass ;) Here you have chapter 18! I'm going to /try/ and update either tomorrow or on christmas day. More than likely it will be Christmas Day, as my family does all of our gift opening and big dinner and such on Christmas Eve. In the next chapter, we'll see just how dark our beloved raven turned fairy can get, and just how far Maleficent will /let/ him go. Reviews make me a happy wolf!**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

**AN: After much deliberation, I decided to go ahead and post this chapter once I remembered that I will be without my computer tomorrow and the day after. Silly me.**

Diaval released a sound similar to a growl before he leaned down, attaching his lips to her neck, hands resting on her hips. A light sigh escaped the horned fairy, and she closed her eyes, letting her head tilt to the side a bit. His teeth suddenly latched onto her skin, and the sound of ripping material was heard, the cold air hitting her suddenly exposed torso.

"Why you little..."

With a low, nearly inaudible groan, she worked her own magic, encasing their nest in the shelter of the branches of the tree. As his lips moved to claim her own, his hands moved to her exposed chest, kneeding the skin under them. Maleficent tugged on the thin vines holding her hands hostage, grunting when they didn't give way.

"So this was your plan, eh? Get me back here and immobilize me?"

"Everyone is always at your mercy...so I thought I'd simply turn the tables for once."

A near wicked grin curled his lips and he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Besides...how else am I going to leave you breathless?"

The horned fairy felt another shudder race down her spine, and it's a sure bet if her wings had still been there, the feathers would have stood on end. Before she could come up with a response, his lips were attached to her neck again, one hand gently pulling her head back by one of her horns.

"Who are you and what have you done with Diaval?"

The man laughed against her skin, letting his hands slide down to rest on her waist as he made his way down her body, seeming to cover every inch of exposed skin with his lips. Unable to help it, Maleficent let her eyes flutter shut, again trying to free her hands before simply giving up. The soft rustling of feathers and clothing was heard, and she lifted her head to gaze up at him, sharp eyes watching his every move as he removed his clothes. She smirked a bit at how just the slightest touch on his new wings had excited him, but her thoughts came to a screeching halt as he slipped down between her legs, lips again descending on her. The light ache in her back slipped further and further from her mind at his continued attention, and a light groan slipped past her lips.

"Ah ah...don't hold anything back. Not tonight."

"You want all of the Moors to know what we're doing?"

"I don't care if they hear you all the way at Aurora's castle."

Maleficent's eyes again snapped shut and she grinned a bit, shifting slightly to allow him to settle more comfortably, inadvertadly giving him more access as well. He adjusted his position as well, letting one hand rest on her waist while the other slipped down to aid him in pleasing her. Only when he felt her body start to tense did he stop, slipping back up to lay next to her with a cheeky smile, letting his hand trail over her skin.

"Ahhhh you bastard...you're horrible."

"And you love it."

The horned fairy allowed her eyes to open to slits, bright green meeting purple. The change in his eye color caused her to lift an eyebrow, once again trying to move her hands with a huff.  
>"Release me."<p>

"Nope. You're mine tonight."

"Diaval..."

"Just relax. You trust me, don't you?"

"With my life."

The soft admission caused his grin to soften into a smile, and he leaned forward, catching her in a loving kiss. Once her body had calmed from it's near climax, he went on the attack again, once more leaving her on the brink with a dark chuckle. A low, near menacing growl escaped her and she glared at him, though the look held no real anger.

"Would you /stop that/?!"

"Aw, but it's so fun...it's not often I get to see you like this."

"Keep this up, and you never will again."

He grinned at her again, finally shifting to hover over her, aligning himself properly before slipping into her with a loud, satisfied groan. Her legs immediately wound around his waist, pulling him tight against her with a groan of her own. Though she tried not to, her body betrayed her, and the moment he was fully within her, she reached release.

"You...are...evil."

"It's your own fault, you know."

Diaval grunted and started a rather quick, forceful pace, unlike his usual slow and gentle actions. When he leaned forward a bit, her teeth immediately latched onto his shoulder with a groan, and he smirked a bit. One hand slipped up from its place on her waist, gently closing around her neck and pushing her head back. Startled green eyes met his own, and he leaned down to kiss her.

"If this is too much, please, tell me."

"Honestly...if you want me to feel threatened...you're going to have to do better than that."

His dark purple eyes glittered deviously, and he increased the strength of his movements, pressing her back into the moss with a bit more force. Being immobile for the most part, combined with the feeling of his hand on her neck, sent an unusual feeling straight to the pit of her stomach. It wasn't the fear she expected, but something much more pleasant that made her release a strangled groan as her eyes fell shut again. His free arm wound its way under her back and pulled her close, unleashing everything he had within him on the woman. It wasn't long before she felt every muscle in her start to tense again, head pressing back against the nest behind her as his grip on her neck increased to the point of restricting her air flow. The moment she reached her second release of the night, he tensed as well, burying his head against her shoulder. A choked scream tore from her throat, the sound barely above a whisper. They stayed that way for a few minutes, until she dug her heel into his lower back to get his attention. When Diaval looked up, she motioned with her eyes to his hand, which he immediately removed from her neck. Maleficent took a deep breath and closed her eyes, inwardly wincing at the cramp in her arms.

"As...surprisingly enjoyable as that was, my dear...my arms are starting to cramp. Can I have them back now?"

"Oh! Of course!"

With a glow of purple, the vines holding her arms released her, and she lowered them from their position over her head, too exhausted to move anything else.  
>"Ah...are you alright?"<p>

"I'll be fine once I can /move/ you crazy man."

He chuckled and laid next to her, gathering her into his arms and letting her rest her head on his shoulder. Once their breathing returned to normal and their heart rates had calmed, she lifted up on an elbow and stared down at him.

"I don't know /what/ got into you...but..."

"I didn't go too far, did I?"

"No. In fact...perhaps we should do that more often."

"Heh...never would have guessed you /liked/ being tied down and choked."

"Yeah...me either. You're lucky I trust you, otherwise I would have impaled you on a tree branch. You're also lucky I'm too exhausted to retaliate."

A soft chuckle escaped him as he pressed a kiss to her forehead, again running his fingers through her hair and over her horns. A yawn overtook the female fairy, and before long, she was sound asleep against his side. Diaval yawned as well, and followed behind her not long after, one of his wings further shielding them from view.

**AN 2: Hehehe I'm a horrible person. Diaval isn't as gentle and kind as we thought! And Maleficent seems to have a hidden kink! WOO! Lol. Review! Your reviews shall be my christmas presents! They make me a happy wolf!**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

When the sun came up the next morning, the horned fairy didn't budge, too tired to bother waking up right away. Diaval grunted and let his eyes slide open a bit, smiling at the sight of her still sound asleep in his arms. When he moved, she grumbled and buried her face against his neck, simply refusing to wake. He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before extracting himself from the nest, careful not to wake her, before heading to the lake to bathe. Once he was gone, she grunted and let her eyes slide open, dressing herself and stretching, smiling at the pleasant ache that had settled in her overnight.

"I swear he's crazy..."

Hearing the splashing from the lake, she carefully climbed down the tree and headed that way, trying to keep her footsteps light in the snow. When she saw him, she grinned, contemplating stealing his clothes for all of a few moments. Maleficent leaned on the tree that held his clothes out of the snow on one of the branches, simply watching him. When he surfaced again and turned, he jumped a bit at seeing her leaning casually against the bark.

"Did I wake you when I left?"

"You did. It's hard to sleep when your pillow leaves, after all."

"Ah, sorry. I was trying to be stealthy."

She smiled and gracefully jumped onto the large rock in the water, seating herself on it's warm surface and letting her feet dangle into the water. Diaval swam over to her and rested his arms on the stone, pushing himself up just enough to catch her in a brief kiss. She ruffled his hair with a chuckle, sending small water droplets flying everywhere.

"I'm surprised you can walk this morning."

"Oh please. I'm not that fragile, Diaval. If you want me to be unable to move, you'd have to do a hell of a lot worse than you did last night. Although, I will admit to having this /lovely/ ache all over."

He grinned up at her, and quickly finished his bath before re-dressing and shaking the water from his wings. Seeing him do so caused an /unwelcome/ pain in her back, the muscles there trying to extend and stretch the non-existent wings. Diaval winced a bit, moving around behind her and gently lying his hands on her shoulders, trying to rub the pain away. She closed her eyes and lifted a hand to cover his when they came to a stop for a moment.

"It's alright. I appreciate it, but it'll go away in a little bit."

"I just still feel like this is my fault. If I'd been more careful, you wouldn't have had to save me...you'd still have your beautiful wings."

"Shh. Let's not talk about that, alright?"

As he opened his mouth to respond, a voice broke the silence of the Moors, a voice calling out Maleficent's name. Diaval blinked and lifted an eyebrow, silently asking if she recognized the voice. Her brows furrowed a bit and she took his hand, leading him towards the voice, figuring if they knew her name, and were foolish enough to come into the Moors, it was someone who she knew personally. The two of them broke the tree-line of a large clearing, the horned fairy's eyebrow shooting up as she saw who was standing within it.

"Stefan? What are you doing here?"

Instead of responding, the former King was staring in stunned silence at the sight of her missing wings, and the bruise she hadn't noticed on her neck.

"Who...who did /that/?"

"Hm? Did what?"

"Your neck..."

Lifting an eyebrow again, she moved over to the small frozen pond near-by, examining said neck, and smiling when she saw the hand-shaped bruise.

"It's nothing to worry about. Now...do you need something?"

"Not me. Aurora needs you. There have been some threats against her life...and she asked me to come get you."

The fairy's eyes flashed dangerously and she immediately nodded, opting to ride on the horse behind Stefan rather than have Diaval carry her, so she could get more information out of the man. He spoke of threatening letters that the young blond had received, as well as one physical attempt on her life. Maleficent growled menacingly, her eyes narrowing as she fought to control the magic wishing to roll of her.

"Any ideas who it is? No one threatens my little beastie."

"Not yet. We're keeping a close eye for suspicious behavior, though. She said she'd feel safer with you and your lover around."

It wasn't long before they'd reached the castle, the guards moving aside to let the trio in, Diaval having landed next to them when they'd reached the gates. As soon as they were inside, the horned woman was led to Aurora's room, the two men being instructed to wait in the main hall. As the door opened, the young Queen could be seen sitting in bed, staring out the window.

"Aurora?"

"Godmother! Oh I'm so glad you're here!"

Crossing the room in a few moments, Maleficent sat down next to her goddaughter, returning the immediate hug she was wrapped in.

"It's alright, beastie. No one is going to hurt you as long as I draw breath, I promise."

"I just...feel better with you and Diaval around."

She nodded, looking over as the door opened and the man in question was admitted. He came over to the bed and sat as well, sending the young blond a reassuring smile.

"Godmother..."  
>"Hm?"<p>

"What is that on your neck?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. It's nothing-"

"It's a bruise! A hand-shaped bruise...what happened?!"

The pair of fairy's blushed and cleared their throats, the woman reaching up to tug the collar of her winter dress up to hide said bruise. Aurora simply blinked in confusion, and turned her eyes to Diaval, who immediately tried to change the subject. After they insisted, yet again, that it was nothing to worry about, the girl finally dropped it, and began explaining the odd letters she'd been getting. One of the servants brought them in after the Queen asked, and handed them to Maleficent, who started to read through them. Diaval read over her shoulder, and both of them felt anger threatening to cause their magic to go haywire.

"Who would be stupid enough to threaten their Queen like this? I don't understand..."

"Someone who thinks they would be better suited to rule. More than likely a man who believes that a young woman has no business on a throne."

"I don't want to visit people today..."

The horned fairy blinked and turned her eyes to Aurora again, who was gazing up at her with fear in her bright blue eyes.

"I have to hear complaints today...I don't want to..."

"Aurora...both of us will be here, as well as your guards. Anyone who would try something in plain sight of us has a death wish."

Diaval quickly agreed with his mate, putting a hand on the young woman's shoulder with a smile. After gentle prodding from her godmother, Aurora got up and dressed herself properly before heading to the throne room. Maleficent asked the guard at the door to let one person in at a time, and after he nodded in agreement, she moved to stand next to, yet behind, the blond's throne, the male fairy on the other side. Philip sat next to her, holding her hand reassuringly. With a nod from the young Queen, the guard opened the door and allowed the first villager inside, an old woman who simply asked for help for her sick husband. When Aurora looked back at her, the horned woman nodded with a smile before turning to the older woman.

"I'll stop by your home later this evening and see what I can do."

"Oh, thank you, My Lady."

As the old woman shuffled out of the room, the blond sighed and sent her godmother a smile which was returned right away. The rest of the meetings went well, very few villagers having come to make a request or voice a complaint. Once the last one left, Maleficent readied herself to make a visit to the woman who'd asked for help for her husband. Aurora insisted on going along, not wanting to be far from the magical beings that had vowed to protect her. They got odd stares and whispers as they walked through the village, many of the residents immediately noticing the fairy's lack of wings once again. They reached the small home in about an hour, and the Queen knocked softly on the door, which opened soon after.

"Oh! You're here! Thank goodness, he's getting worse..."

Maleficent ducked under the door-frame, horns making it impossible to enter while standing straight up, and knelt next to the bed. The man's wife explained what had been going on with her husband, and the fairy hovered her hand over his heart. A sad look entered her eyes, and she lowered her hand to rest gently on his chest, turning her head towards his wife.

"I'm afraid there's nothing I can do to help him...it's simply his time to go. I can, however, make him more comfortable and help ease any pain he's having, if you wish."

She nodded, tears filling her eyes, and the fairy turned back to the older man, smiling gently at him. Letting her hand remain on his chest, a golden glow began to leak from her skin, absorbing into his. He opened his eyes for a moment, giving a thankful smile, before they fell closed again. Maleficent kept up the gentle flow of magic for another half an hour before the man's breathing slowly ceased, his wife holding his hand. The fairy slowly stood, laying a gentle hand on the woman's shoulder.

"I'm so sorry...I wish I could have done more."

"Thank you, for trying. Not many care for poor folk like us."

A sad smile graced the fairy's lips and she turned to leave, Diaval and Aurora following. She took a deep breath once clear of the house, and closed her eyes. Her mate approached and slipped an arm around her waist, gently kissing her cheek. The whistle of something flying through the air caught her attention, as did the gleam of a blade in the afternoon sun when she opened her eyes.

"Aurora!"

The Queen stared in shock at the object rocketing towards her, barely having time to react before the fairy reached out and caught it by the blade, ignoring the blood that ran down the iron, dropping it as it burned.

"Diaval! Catch him!"

He looked to his right where a hooded figure could be seen running away as fast as he could. He growled and took flight, chasing the man towards the forest that separated the Moors and the human kingdom. Maleficent turned to Aurora, and once she was satisfied the blond wasn't hurt, she winced and gazed down at her own hand, a deep gash meeting her eyes.

"Ugh...lovely. Certainly hope that doesn't scar..."

She closed her hand and concentrated, thin wisps of gold and green dancing around her fist. When she opened her hand again, all traces of the wound, besides the blood, were gone. Diaval returned a few minutes later, by himself.

"He slipped into the trees...I lost him."

A soft curse escaped the horned fairy, and she barely noticed him taking her hand to examine it, wiping the blood away. The two of them escorted Aurora back to the castle, where she told her guards to be on the lookout. The three of them retired to the main hall where Philip was waiting, anger clouding his young eyes when he learned of what had happened.

"Godmother..."

"What is it?"

"I...hate to ask you this...but...will you stay with me until they find out who's doing this? I feel so much safer with you here."

"Of course we will. I wouldn't leave you alone with someone trying to kill you."

The blond wrapped the older woman in a tearful hug, before retiring to the library of the castle with her husband. As soon as they were gone, Maleficent suddenly stalked towards the door, angry green magic rippling from every inch of her.

"Diaval...stay here with Aurora. I'm going to find that man and /make/ him tell me why he tried to kill my little beastie."

The man nodded, knowing better than to get in her way when she was angry, and moved to the library as well, simply standing off to the side as the King and Queen curled together and read. The horned fairy procured a horse from the stables and took off towards the forest. She dismounted at the tree-line and tied the horses reins to a branch, venturing further in on foot, her sharp hearing trained on any footsteps that weren't her own.

**AN: Merry Christmas faithful readers! Enjoy chapter 20 as a gift from me! I was originally going to take today and tomorrow off from writing and updating, but I couldn't keep myself away! My muse is a persistent little bugger! Reviews make me a happy wolf!**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty One

As she picked her way through the trees, the sound she was listening for finally met her ears, and she growled before following it. Her sharp green eyes watched the shadows as the sun began to set, trying to discern the shadows of the trees from the others. The man in question was lurking behind one of the large trees, only moving when he was certain she wasn't watching. She walked right past the tree he was hiding behind, only stopping when she heard him take off at a run behind her.

"Damn it!"

Maleficent turned and narrowed her eyes when she again didn't see him. It wasn't long before the sun set completely, throwing the forest into darkness. The fairy sighed and gave up her search, moving back to her horse and heading back to the castle. Within the tree-line, the would-be assassin released a breath and relaxed. When she returned, she went to Aurora's room and sighed, shaking her head.

"He got away..."

Diaval moved over and slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her against his side as she let out a frustrated sigh. He kissed her cheek and led her over to sit on one of the padded benches in the room.

"We'll get him."

The horned fairy sighed and let herself relax against her lover's side, smiling a bit when Aurora settled down in bed and tried to sleep. When the blond continued to toss and turn, grumbling to herself, Maleficent stood and walked over, sitting on the edge of the bed. After a soft conversation, she did something Diaval had never heard, she started to sing. The song was in the ancient fairy tongue, so neither of them could understand her, but soon, the young Queen fell asleep with a small smile on her face. The fairy smiled as well, kissing her forehead before moving back to her previous seat.

"What was that?"

"It was a song my mother sang to me when I was young. I thought it might help."

"It was beautiful."

"Thank you..."

Once situated, it wasn't long until the pair of them were sleeping as well. The only disturbance through the night was Philip slipping into the room to check on his wife, before letting them know he was going out first thing the next morning to look for her attacker. After Diaval's insistence of going with them, the King nodded and left them in peace again. A grumble escaped the horned woman, causing a chuckle to escape the man next to her. He laid his hands on her shoulders, rubbing gently, hoping to relax her a bit. Feeling the gentle touch, she smiled over her shoulder at him and let her eyes fall shut again. His wings rustled as he wrapped them around her and pulled her close, her head resting on his shoulder. The two of them spoke softly for a while, not wanting to disturb Aurora, until Maleficent fell victim to sleep once more. When the sun rose, Philip, Diaval and small force of the castle guard moved out into the forest to search for the man who'd attacked the blond the day before.

Aurora busied herself by asking the horned fairy about the residents of the Moors, laughing when she heard of the exploits of the three pixies who'd raised her. They wandered around the castle, at one point stopping to have a brief conversation with Stefan before he headed out to help the search team. The mention of the attack the previous day caused the young woman to shiver, and Maleficent slipped an arm around her shoulders, giving her a gentle hug.

"Don't worry, beastie. We'll find him, and when we do...well...it may not be wise to let me near him."

"Thank you, for staying here. I know you don't like to leave the Moors for long periods of time."

"It's no problem. The Moors won't burst into flame without me, after all, they have Balthazar to protect them while I'm not there."

The young woman nodded, and wandered down the hall into the library, her godmother close behind her. The fairy took her mind off the pressing matter by asking about her relationship with Philip, to which the Queen blushed. The older woman chuckled softly and shook her head when told of how adorably protective the young man was.

"At least he's treating you well."

"Oh, of course. I don't think he has a mean bone in his body."

"I'm sure he could be mean if he had to be."

The two spent the majority of the day in the library, Aurora recommending several books to the fairy. When the search party returned at sunset, both of them anxiously met them in the main hall, only to be disappointed when they had no-one with them. Maleficent left the Queen's side when Philip approached, the two of them moving off to talk in private.

"That man is like a snake. Slippery and hard to find."

Diaval growled as he moved over to stand next to his mate, wings twitching in agitation. She reached over to take his hand, smiling a bit before moving to look out the large window, only to blink in confusion as a rather large shape could be seen in the sky. The wing-span of the thing in flight was much too large to be a bird, which caused the fairy to lift an eyebrow.

"What in the..."

Diaval moved over to the window as well, catching sight of the shape in the moonlight as it passed in front of said moon. When whatever it was circled and landed outside the castle gates, the two of them immediately moved outside to confront it. When Maleficent's eyes landed on the figure, a tall male fairy, her jaw nearly hit the ground. The figure in question folded his dark brown wings against his back and smirked, giving a near wicked smirk before he spoke.

"Hello, sister."

**AN: WHAT?! Our favorite fairy has a brother?! Oh what family drama will unfold?! Anywho, sorry for this chapter being so dang short, but I wanted to give you guys something before the end of the day today. I more than likely will not be updating tomorrow, because I have a whole day planned with a friend. Merry Christmas, faithful readers! Reviews make me a happy wolf!**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty Two

Maleficent's eyes flashed dangerously, and she took a step forward. The new arrival lifted an eyebrow at her, simply crossing his arms and chuckling, taking note as Diaval moved to come forward as well. She put a hand on his shoulder to stop him, before using the same hand to give her brother a hard slap across the face.

"How /dare/ you show your face here, Damien."

"Aw, no love for your little brother? My goodness, what would mother and father say if they saw you treating me this way?"

"You've got some guts, bringing them up after what you've done."

"Ancient history, sister. Let it go. What I'm more curious about...is your lack of wings."

A near growl escaped the horned female, and she took another step, bringing her inches away from her taller brother, glaring up at him.

"You need to leave. After what you did...you are /not/ welcome in the Moors, and you're certainly not welcome here."

His light brown eyes glittered in amusement, clearly not taking his sister's threat seriously. He turned his eyes to Diaval, who was standing with his arms crossed, watching the exchange closely.

"Now who's this? I don't remember him from when I lived in the Moors."

"It's none of your damn business who he is."

When the taller man stepped forward, stopping a few inches away from him, her lover leveled him with a glare. Damien lifted an eyebrow, a chuckle slipping from his lips as he appraised the black-winged fairy. Diaval's wings twitched in irritation, a movement that didn't go un-noticed by the other.

"Since my dear sister isn't going to tell me...I'll ask you. Who are you?"

"Diaval. That's all you need to know."

"Ahhhh, you're my sister's lover that I've heard about, then. How wonderful it is to meet you."

Looking up when she heard Aurora's balcony door open, Maleficent also heard the rustle of feathers. When she looked back, Damien had spread his wings, looking up at the young Queen as she stepped out onto the balcony.

"Oh ho...I think I'll go say hello."

Before he could even flap once to take off, the horned woman had him pinned by the neck to a tree behind him, taking satisfaction at hearing the wood crack under the force. He grunted, leveling his sister with a cold glare before trying to push her away.

"If you even /think/ of coming anywhere /near/ the Queen...I'll kill you. If you think being family will protect you from me, you're dead wrong, Damien."

"Mm...I always was stronger than you, big sister, and mommy and daddy aren't here to protect you."

A bright green glow encased her, and she pressed him harder against the bark of the tree with a feral growl.

"I warned you. If I see you here, or in the Moors...you will pay."

Taking a breath as she stepped back, Damien smirked and turned his back, dark wings spreading again as he took to the sky. Instead of heading towards the Moors, or the castle, he flew off in a completely different direction, Maleficent and Diaval watching closely until he was out of sight. Once he was gone, they turned and entered the castle again, going to Aurora's room and quickly closing the balcony door and locking it.

"Well...interesting family reunion."

"We're related by blood, that's it. I do /not/ claim that man as my family."

Diaval slipped an arm around her waist, trying to calm the anger he could practically feel rolling off her in waves. She moved out of his reach and grumbled, staring out the window as if awaiting her estranged brother to fly back into view. Deciding to give her some space, he sat down on the edge of Aurora's bed, speaking softly with her until the girl fell asleep again. After what seemed like forever, Maleficent finally moved away from the window and sat down, arms crossed, muscles tense.

"What the hell did he do to make you hate him so?"

"It's a long story..."

"We have all night, love..."

With a sigh, she relented and began to recount the story of her childhood, telling him of how her brother hadn't had many friends in the Moors, his wings developing slower than her own, which made him an outcast. Maleficent had been the only real friend he had as a child, and they had been nearly in-seperable. A war had broken out with the human kingdom that Aurora now ruled, a war that had taken many lives on both sides. Her parents, the protectors of their lands, had tried to stop it, tried to hide the fairfolk that lived within the Moors.

"My brother betrayed all of us. He went to the human King, and told him where we were hiding. He brought an army into the Moors...and he found us. My parents told me to run, and the last thing I remember was seeing Damien standing with the humans, watching as they slaughtered our parents. After everything calmed down, I returned...and all I found were their bodies, wings and horns gone, presumably taken by the King as trophies."

Diaval could only stare, dumbstruck, as he listened to the betrayal and pain that her own brother had caused. He slipped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his side as she took in a shaky breath.

"He came back to the Moors a few years later...after I had been named the new protector. He begged me to stay, for me to forgive him, but I didn't. I exiled him from the lands, forced him to find a new home, away from me and everyone he'd betrayed. Deep down, I knew he wasn't sorry, I knew he'd gotten some...sick satisfaction out of watching our parents be butchered."

"God...I'm so sorry...why would he come back now? After all this time away, what would draw him back?"

"I don't know...I wish I did, but I have no idea."

She sighed and leaned her head against her lover's shoulder, letting the soft warmth of his wings that were wrapped around them calm her mind. Diaval pressed a kiss to her forehead and held her close, his thoughts running wild. He turned his eyes towards Aurora and smiled slightly when he saw that their soft conversation hadn't woken her. Maleficent adjusted herself on the padded bench, a light yawn overtaking her.

"Why don't you try and get some sleep? I'll be here when you wake up."

She smiled a bit, and after kissing his cheek, laid down to rest her head in his lap, eyes slowly slipping shut. Diaval ran his fingers through her hair and over the base of her horns with a smile of his own. Shifting a bit, Maleficent rested a hand alongside her head on the man's leg, the light, constant ache in her back drifting from her mind with the pull of sleep. The fairy slept soundly, only shifting once or twice during the night. When the sun rose the next morning, she grunted and let her eyes slip open, peering up at Diaval. He smiled down at her, having been awake for a few hours before her.

"Morning."

"How long have you been awake?"

"A few hours, not too long."

The fairy sat up and stretched, looking over towards Aurora's bed, and blinking when she saw the blond gone. Diaval explained that she and Philip had gone to have breakfast together about ten minutes before she'd awoken. The two of them stood and headed out into the hallway, meeting up with Stefan on their walk. He talked to them about the guard's plans to find Aurora's would-be assassin, with Diaval offering his help whenever it was needed.

"We have to find him..."

The male fairy wrapped his arm around Maleficent's shoulders, pulling her against him for a moment before they continued on their way down the hall, stepping out into the crisp morning air. Out in the woods, the man from a few days before approached a shadowed figure.

"Sir..."

"I'm paying you to kill her, not fail! If you don't complete your mission soon, boy, I'll take matters into my own hands."

"I won't fail again. I promise."

"See to it that you don't."

**AN: I give you chapter 22, faithful readers! I know it's short, but my muse has been taking a break lately. I hope she drinks a monster or something and gets back to work! What drama will unfold with the arrival of Maleficent's brother? Will Aurora's assassin succeed? Read on to find out! Reviews make me a happy wolf!**


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty Three

The days slowly turned into months, and every day a search team went through the village, searching for anything that could link someone to the attack on their Queen. Maleficent and Diaval had both stayed, as the young woman asked, every once in a while the former raven flying back to the Moors to check on things. The horned fairy's brother had made a few more appearances in the sky, never coming near the castle, either deeming it not worth his time, or taking his sister's threat of bodily harm to heart. The only indication that someone was still seeking to take the young Queen's life were the letters she received. Some were vague and haunted her with their words, while others were sharp and to the point. Maleficent did her best to keep the blond calm, and often used her magic to the point of exhaustion to help her sleep. It was on one of these nights that a commotion could be heard in the main hall, Diaval coming upstairs and gently shaking her awake.

"Maleficent...we found someone."

"Mm...wait what?"

All exhaustion seemed to vanish, and the horned woman sat upright before standing and following her lover downstairs. There, lying on his side on the floor, was a man in his early thirties. One of the guards pulled a bag from his side and tossed it to the fairy, who caught it and cautiously opened it.

"We found those in his house, My Lady. All letters that detail how he's going to kill Queen Aurora /and/ King Philip."

"Stand him up."

The guard nodded, shivering internally at the tone of her voice, and pulled the bound man to his feet. With a grumble, he lifted his eyes to look directly into Maleficent's own, oddly showing no fear of the very angry fairy before him. She approached, stopping when she stood only a few inches away from him.

"You're the one who's been threatening my Aurora, then?"

"That little brat has NO business ruling a Kingdom!"

A sharp growl was his response as Maleficent lifted a hand, gripping his neck and pushing him back against the stone wall behind him.

"Why? And I swear to god if you say she's too young, I'll snap your neck."

"I aint gotta tell you nothing, witch."

"If you value your life, you should speak."

The man simply remained silent, his light brown eyes meeting her bright green ones in defiance. Behind her, Diaval's wings spread to their full span, and he released a low growl of his own at the lack of information. Suddenly drawing back, the horned fairy drove her fist into his stomach, causing all the air to rush out of his lungs rather forcefully. Their suspect fell into a coughing fit, and would have doubled over if not for Maleficent holding him to the wall.

"Now...feel like talking? Believe me...I'm just in the mood to let the evil side of me out again."

"Not...gonna tell you...anything..."

"Mmm...well then..."

Holding a hand out to one of the guards, and simply saying `knife` got her the item she requested. Her lover lifted an eyebrow as she brought the knife up to the man's throat before letting it slide down, not pressing quite hard enough to cut him. Once it reached his groin, however, she dug the point into his skin, causing a pained yell to escape him.

"You can either tell me why you're trying to kill my goddaughter...or I can turn you into a woman. The choice is yours."

"Okay! Okay I'll tell you! Ease up down there, lady!"

"Speak, then I'll ease up if I believe what you tell me."

"Fine! I was hired to kill her! I...I was hired, damn it!"

"By who?"

"I...I dunno! Some guy in a hooded robe! I never saw his face and I never got his name! He paid me my weight in gold to get rid of the Queen! We...we're supposed to meet tomorrow night!"

The pressure of the blade lessened a bit, but she kept him pinned to the wall as she nearly hissed in his face.

"Then /you/ are going to take me to him."

"He'll kill me!"

"And what makes you think /I/ won't."

After another rather painful jab with the knife, their man agreed to lead her to the one who'd hired him once the sun set the next night. He was locked away in the dungeon until time, and Maleficent returned the knife to its rightful owner. Diaval followed her as she stalked off down the hall, hesitantly reaching out to take her hand. Turning to face him, she let out a sigh and met his eyes.

"Are you sure going with him is a good idea?"

"No, but if it gets me the one who's trying to hurt Aurora, I'll risk it."

"I'm coming with you, you know that, right?"

"I figured...it'll be less conspicuous if you let me change you into a raven, again, though. No one would suspect a cute little bird of being a spy."

"Whatever it takes, love."

She nodded and let him pull her against his chest, kissing her forehead as they watched the sun come up in the distance. The castle was buzzing with the news that the guards had caught someone in connection with the assassination attempts, one or two of the servants venturing to the dungeon to see the captive. He simply kept his face turned away from the small opening in the wooden door. Maleficent herself went down once or twice, to /persuade/ him to tell her anything else he knew about the man who'd hired him. The only new information she learned was that he was tall, had blue eyes, and an odd growth that could be seen under the cloak on his back. The fairy actually had to pull Stefan out of the cell when he came down one of those times, the man ready to beat their captive to a pulp. Once outside the cell and out of earshot, she released him and growled.

"You don't think /I/ want to kill him? If we're not careful, we lose the only one who can take us to this man...just hold your temper, Stefan..."

"Hold my temper?! Did you /hold your temper/ when you cursed my little girl as a baby?! I begged you, BEGGED you not to do it..."

"What's done, is done. It's in the past...and Aurora forgave me, even though I don't deserve it."

Once the former King calmed down, he and the horned woman stepped outside to talk, the snow having melted and the weather starting to warm again.

"You never did explain your new lack of wings."

"Diaval was dying. I gave up my wings to save him."

"He must mean a great deal to you, then..."

"Yes, he does."

The man in question then exited the castle, moving over and insisting that he speak to her. After excusing herself, she turned and followed Diaval over to the side, near the castle gates.

"What is it?"

"Aurora wants to help us..."

"No."

"I told her you'd say that, but she insisted I tell you her plan. She wants you to put her to sleep again."

When the fairy's eyebrow shot up, the former raven chuckled a bit despite himself.

"She wants to look dead, so we can bring her /body/ to the man who hired our assassin. Maybe he'll expose himself when he thinks her deceased."

"The little beastie...is smarter than she lets on. I don't know, though...if something were to go wrong..."

Diaval reached out and took her hand, giving it an encouraging squeeze before leading her back inside so she could voice her concerns to Aurora in person. After nearly two hours of debating the plan, with a few tweaks to ensure the blond's safety, Maleficent caved with a nod and a sigh. Grumbling about the little blond being `too cute to resist` she set to work thinking up a spell that would give the illusion of death, while ensuring she would be transported back to the castle if the man they were going to confront tried to confirm it. The day seemed to drag by as they anxiously awaited sundown, the fairy explaining the spell to Aurora, Philip and Stefan as best she could. The moment the sun sank below the horizon, their captive was brought upstairs, where he stared bewildered at the `lifeless` form of the young Queen.

"You are to say nothing, besides that she is dead. Is that clear?"

He gulped a bit and nodded, seeing the harsh glare in the horned woman's eyes. As they headed towards the forest, the woman looked down at the Queen, a shiver racing down her spine at seeing her looking so lifeless and pale. Diaval, in raven form again, flew above them, landing on one of the tree branches once they were into the woods a fair ways. Her thoughts were interrupted as a tall, robed man stepped out from behind one of the trees, his eyes locking on her own hooded self carrying Aurora.

"Well well...you've brought me a gift, have you, Sebastian?"

"She's dead...as we agreed. I made a friend in the village that offered to help me cart the body."

Maleficent moved forward and laid the young woman on the ground before standing and stepping back just slightly, waiting in anticipation as their suspect stepped forward. His bright blue eyes peered up at her through the shadow of his hood, before he extended a hand to the other man, holding a pouch of gold coins. When it didn't look like the man would be lowering his hood, Diaval cawed loudly and swooped down, catching the edge with his talons and pulling it from his head. Swatting at the bird, he stood and growled, his face revealed in the moonlight. The man standing before them caused the horned fairy's blood to boil, and she clenched her fists in an effort to contain her magic.

"Well...I guess the cat's out of the bag..."

The moment he moved forward to pick up Aurora's body, it vanished, re-appearing safely in her room at the castle, where she awoke immediately. Another growl-like sound escaped him and he stood, staring her in the face as best he could.

"Hmph...I should have known /you/ would get involved in this, big sister."

**AN: Dun dun duuuuun! What does Maleficent's baby brother have to gain from Aurora's death?! Well, I guess you'll have to read on to find out! I know this update was slower than the others, and I apologize. I've been having writer's block something terrible. Guess my muse isn't drinking her coffee on a regular basis! Will try to get another chapter up soon, guys! Review my faithful readers! Reviews make me a happy wolf!**


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty Four

The fairy let her hood drop, bright green eyes flashing as she stepped forward towards him.

"You...why are you doing this?"

"Simple. Humans have no place being this close to /our/ land. I want them gone."

"Killing their Queen is NOT going to help!"

"Listen to you, Maleficent! You've grown soft towards them!"

She growled, and before he could fly away, tree branches wrapped around his wrists and ankles, holding him in place. Damien leveled his shorter sister with a wicked glare, fighting against the branches holding him.

"Let me go."

"You will pay for what you've done, Damien."

With a wave of her hand, Diaval transformed back into his fairy self, and with a nod, he flew off towards the castle to retrieve the guards. As if realizing she meant to have him imprisoned, her brother started to struggle harder, wincing as the branches dug into his skin. A light blue glow encased his hand, and the branches surrounding him froze solid. He yanked his hands and feet free, the frozen bark shattering as he flew up into the sky. Again using her magic, she sent vines and branches up after him, trying to drag him back to the ground, only to have them freeze as well. As he hovered in the air, glaring down at her, he muttered something under his breath before flying off.

"No! He can't get away!"

No sooner had the words left her mouth, than Diaval could be seen shooting through the sky after him. The horned fairy winced as the muscles in her back tried to spread her non-existent wings so she could join the chase as well. As she saw the pair flying back towards the castle, she took off running as fast as she could, hoping to get there before them. A loud scream was heard from Aurora's room just as she burst through the main doors, and she immediately headed upstairs. Maleficent pushed open the door only to see Diaval land in an unconscious heap in the corner, as her brother advanced on the young blond. With a low growl, she charged forward, leaping onto his back and locking her arm around his neck.

"Run, beastie!"

She needed no second bidding as she took off to find the guards and her father. Damien let out a surprised yell before stumbling forward, flapping his wings in an attempt to dislodge his sister. Her grip on his neck only tightened as he took to the sky with her, still trying to knock her from his back. Aurora and the guards entered the room just in time to see the pair rocket up, the Queen watching anxiously as her godmother clung to the taller fairy's neck. Finally situating her feet against his lower back, she tightened her hold on him enough to cut off his air supply. His hands moved to her arm, pulling at them as he found himself unable to breathe.

"You'll kill both of us!"

"If I go down...I'm taking you with me."

Resorting to desperate measures, he turned his head and sank his teeth into her arm, causing her grip to go slack just enough for him to dislodge her arms. As she started to slip, she locked her hands onto the base of his wings instead, and with all her weight, pushed down until she heard the crack of bone. Damien's wings buckled, and they plummeted towards the ground beneath them. At the last moment, he turned, and Maleficent met the ground first with enough force to knock the wind out of her. Her brother rolled away and tried to stand, only to find himself rushed by the castle guard, locked in iron restraints. Aurora ran outside as well and knelt beside her godmother, her face the last thing the fairy saw before losing consciousness. When she awoke, she moved to sit up with a low groan, catching the attention of Diaval who was sitting on the bed next to her.

"You're awake...oh thank god."

"Where is he..."

"In the dungeon. They've got him tied with enough iron that he can't even move."

He helped her sit up, watching anxiously to be sure she was alright, before pulling her into a tight hug.

"What's wrong with you?! You could have been killed..."

"I couldn't let him escape, you know that."

His response was to catch her in a loving kiss before resting his forehead against hers. A soft knock sounded at the door, and one of the guards entered, giving a slight bow of his head.

"The Queen is going to confront him, and asked me to see if you were awake, and feeling up to coming with her."

"Of course."

Maleficent stood, Diaval right next to her, and the two of them met Aurora outside the door to her brother's cell. After a soft conversation, the trio entered the cell, and the horned fairy barely contained the urge to leap at the man. He was bound by the wrists, feet and neck by iron shackles, his wings captive against his back with chains. He lifted his eyes to his sister and smirked, smug even with the position he was in. She felt a hand on her arm when she moved forward, ready to smack it off his face. Aurora smiled at her and stepped forward, confronting the man who'd tried to have her killed with courage she didn't know she had.

"You tried to have me killed...why?"

"I don't have to tell you anything, human brat."

With a sigh, the Queen turned to her godmother, who nodded at her, before turning back to their captive and handing down his sentence.

"For my attempted assassination...I sentence you to death. Your punishment will be carried out first thing in the morning."

With that, the blond turned to leave the cell, Maleficent and Diaval turning to follow her. The horned woman stopped when she heard the rattle of his chains as he lifted his head.

"You know, sister..."

She stopped and turned back to face him, her eyes set in a stone cold glare as she appraised her estranged family member.

"I never did tell you...the look on mother and father's faces as they were killed...was absolutely delicious. I was really looking forward to seeing the look on yours when your beloved human was torn apart."

Unable to hold her rage in any longer, Maleficent turned and grabbed the sword of one of the guards. Her brother let out a choked gasp as the iron blade pierced his chest, his eyes wide. Blood slowly leaked from his mouth, that again turned up in a smirk. Pushing the sword in all the way, and giving a satisfied grin when she saw it pop out the other side, she stepped back, chest heaving.

"Now you'll never have the chance to hurt anyone again."

A sudden, bright glow enveloped the room, the occupants all shielding their eyes. A choked gasp then escaped the horned fairy as she felt an odd sensation in her body, and when the glow faded, everyone in the room could only stare at her.

**AN: Another short-ish chapter. Sorry bout that! I wanted to get something posted before New Years, since I more than likely will not be home tomorrow. Maleficent's brother is dead, and this odd glow happens! What could it mean? Our favorite fairy has avenged her parents AND stopped Aurora's assassination! Will the peace last, or will more drama unfold? Does she have any more family that might show up? I know, but you don't! Keep reading, my faithful ones! Reviews make me a happy wolf!**


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty Five

Maleficent turned to face the other occupants of the dreary dungeon cell, an eyebrow lifting at their shocked expressions. When she heard the familiar rustle of feathers behind her, her eyes widened and she turned to look over her shoulder. The mottled brown and gray feathers of her brother's wings met her eyes before they started to change. The color slowly shifted, changing from the sickly, dark colors, to a bright and vibrant golden brown. The wings extended, revealing a span that rivaled her previous one, the majestic feathers seeming to shine even in the low light of the dungeon.

"My...wings..."

Diaval could only stare as they folded against her back, the horned woman closing her eyes with a smile. Shaking himself out of his daze, her lover walked over to her, eyes wandering over the feathers that once again graced her back.

"You got them back..."

"I did. I don't know how, but I'm not one to question."

He chuckled and slipped his arm around her waist as they turned to leave, letting the guards deal with the body. Maleficent smiled again and leaned against him, wings re-adjusting a bit. Once they were back in the main hall, Diaval pulled her close and kissed her with a smile. He only pulled back when Aurora ran over to them and wrapped her godmother in a hug.

"I'm sorry I carried out his death sentence a little early..."

"It's alright, godmother."

The horned fairy sighed and looked outside, watching the sun rise against the horizon.

"I wonder how long the peace will last this time..."

"Hopefully a long, long while, beastie."

After saying goodbye, and seeing to it that the body of her estranged brother was disposed of, Maleficent and Diaval went back to the Moors, a happy smile on the horned fairy's face at being able to fly again. Once they landed, the trio of pixies approached, each fascinated by the color change of the wings. As if suddenly realizing they weren't the normal dark brown she used to have, she wrapped one around herself to examine them.

"Hm...odd..."

"What is?"

"The color difference...I don't understand it."

The former raven blinked, stepping closer and running his hands over the feathers before looking at her with another smile.

"Any other family that might show up out of nowhere?"

"Not that I can think of, no. Thank god."

Diaval chuckled and took her hand, the two of them walking towards their tree. Balthazar greeted them on the way, he and a few other border guards doing their daily patrols. Instead of going directly to the tree, Maleficent altered their path a bit, heading deeper into the moors. When her lover raised an eyebrow curiously, she explained that she was curious about the new color of her wings, and wanted to consult someone who may know what it meant. After about an hour, they emerged into a clearing, the same clearing that Diaval had woken in after his transformation.

"Ah, Queen of the Moors...what brings you back so soon?"

"I have a question for you, Vincent."

The large stone golem revealed itself, causing the male fairy to simply stare, as he hadn't seen the creature when he'd been saved. Vincent moved forward, casting his glowing blue gaze on them.

"Speak."

"I was curious if you would know why I re-gained my wings...and why they changed color."

"Ahhhh, I take it you've avenged your parents by killing Damien, then?"

"How did you..."

"I sensed his return to the lands. You re-gained your wings, and in that color, because your parents wished it before they died. That golden brown further marks you as protector of these lands and the creatures within it, and also truly marks you as our Queen. Your magical powers will increase, and you will gain new ones as well."

"New...like what?"

"You will gain the power to bring one person, magical or human, back from death's embrace. This power will only work once, however, so you must choose your person wisely."

The horned woman gazed down at her hands, which slowly swirled with a near rainbow of color.

"Use your new-found power to protect the Moors more effectively, Maleficent. Our fate is in your hands."

Vincent grew quiet, again hiding himself within the rocky cliff-side, the blue glow dying out and leaving no trace he was ever there. Diaval slowly laid his hand on her waist, and she tore her eyes away from her hands, the magic dissipating. She gave him a small smile before leading him back out and to their tree where they flew up to the nest and relaxed, her head resting on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just...thinking about what he said. The power to bring someone back to life...that's going to be a heavy choice if I ever have to make it."

"I'm sure you'll use it on the right person."

She nodded, closing her eyes for a moment before shifting a bit, one of her wings folding over them. The day and night passed quietly, the drama at the castle having worn both of them out, and before long, the pair was waking up the next morning, well rested. Diaval grunted when the sunlight filtered through the leaves of their tree before laying his arm over his eyes. Maleficent blinked when he shifted, creaking her eyes open and peering over at him with a lifted eyebrow.

"Lazy birdie."

At hearing the muttered words, he chuckled softly and moved his arm to look over at her. The horned woman leaned forward and caught him in a brief kiss before sitting up and stretching. Diaval sat up as well, his wings stretching and brushing against hers, causing him to look over again and smile.

"What's on the agenda for today?"

"Mm, nothing in particular."

"Oh? Does that mean we can stay cuddled together in this tree all day and not move?"

A soft laugh escaped her and she shook her head with a grin, causing him to give her a very fake looking pout. The expression simply caused more laughter, and after a few moments, he joined her, rolling his eyes at himself. After another hour or so laying together in their nest, the lovers descended the tree and started on a leisurely stroll around the Moors. They were greeted by Knotgrass, Flittle and Thistlebit as the three pixies darted by in a tangle, as usual. Maleficent lifted an eyebrow, and Diaval burst into laughter as the pixie-tangle ran head-long into the trunk of a sturdy tree, stunning the three tiny women as they landed on the ground. The horned fairy moved over and knelt next to them with a chuckle.

"Are you alright? You really should watch where you're going."

"Oh, we're fine! I've lost count of the times we've done that!"

"Perhaps you've taken one too many knocks to the head, then? Please, do be careful. I don't want to find you three lying unconscious somewhere later on."

After promising not to run into any more trees, or other objects that could indeed render them unconscious, the pixie sisters darted away again, flitting in and out of the underbrush.

"How long until one of them flies back and says one of the others has been hurt?"

"Mm, I give them a few hours, tops. Who knows, though, with them."

Diaval chuckled and moved to sit next to the lake near-by, a cheeky grin curling his lips as he recognized it, and the waterfall within. She joined him by the water, curling her legs up underneath her, and lifting an eyebrow at the look on his face.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing, just remembering the first time we were together...behind that waterfall..."

Realization dawned on her, and she shifted her eyes to the waterfall in question, a smirk curling her lips as she turned to speak to him.

"Too bad I don't think both of us can fit back there anymore, with both of us having these massive wings."

"Is that a challenge, love? From what I've seen, your wings could fully expand in there, and that's A LOT of room. Why don't we...test that theory?"

Without speaking, Maleficent rose to her feet and entered the lake, wading towards the waterfall before pulling herself up into the cave behind it. After a moment, Diaval stood and followed her, pulling himself up and making his way back into the wider section where she was waiting for him, wings spread out against the stone behind her.

"Oh, will you look at that. I guess it's bigger in here than I originally thought."

The first thing the former raven noticed about her, was her lack of clothing. The fairy had tossed her sodden dress into a heap in one corner of the cave, a smirk playing on her lips as she stood before him. A low groan escaped him as he felt his body immediately respond to her obvious teasing, and he moved forward, resting his hands on her hips.

"It sure is..."

Maleficent's hands rested on his shoulders, and she smiled, eyes glittering even in the low light of the cave. Diaval leaned forward and caught her in a passionate kiss, his hands pulling her close against his chest. Her arms wound their way around his neck, and before he could think, she had him turned, back pressed up against the stone. She laid a finger over his lips when he opened his mouth to speak, causing him to lift an eyebrow at her in silent question.

"Just relax, little birdie. You had your way last time...now it's my turn."

A shiver raced down his spine at the devious glint in her eyes, and the /very/ slight upturn of her lips as she stripped him of his shirt and pants. A low groan slipped past his lips as her hand almost immediately gripped him, stroking slowly.

"Maleficent..."

"Shhhh. Not a word, Diaval..."

"But..."

"Mm, you don't listen very well, do you?"

He let out a gasp as her hand tightened on him, his mouth snapping shut as his eyes fell closed. The horned fairy chuckled in his ear, gently nipping the lobe before moving her lips to his neck. When his hands reached out to lay on her waist, he found them bound to the stone with rather thick vines that grew from the moss on the wall. His eyes shot open again and he peered down at his wrists, before turning his eyes back to her.

"Wha..."

"No touching. After all, I don't want you to gain control too quickly. Not before I've had my fun, anyways."

Maleficent let her free hand and her lips trace every inch of him, every scar that adorned his skin. Her other hand never stopped it's movements over his erection, causing near silent groans and grunts to slip from his lips as his head pressed back against the stone behind him. With a hidden grin, the woman slowly sank back down to her knees, barely letting her lips graze him. Diaval's eyes shot open and he turned his gaze down to her, seeing the smirk on her face, his wings twitching behind him. A low, yet loud groan escaped him as the fairy slowly took his length into her mouth, his fingers twitching, aching to bury themselves in her hair.

"Ahh shit..."

She looked up at him, her eyes glinting almost dangerously when he spoke, and he immediately clamped his mouth shut again. She grunted a bit and went back to work, teasing him until he nearly reached climax, only to back away and stand with a smirk. His eyes shot open and he growled softly, eyes flashing a bit. Another smirk curled her lips, and she moved forward to press her lips to his. Once he calmed down, she again moved to tease him, grunting in shock as he managed to free one of his hands, said hand blindly grabbing at her hair, only to end up wrapping around one horn. With a glow of green, the vines released his other hand, and he pulled her up into a deep kiss, flipping their positions and pressing her back against the stone. After a bit of shifting, he lifted her off her feet and pushed into her with a deep growl.

The horned fairy let out a low sigh, closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around his neck, letting her head fall back against the wall behind her, wings spread to their full span, feathers twitching. He buried his face against her neck, his teeth latching on and leaving a nice sized mark in their wake. Diaval immediately unleashed everything he had on his lover, his arms wound tight around her waist as he again caught her in a deep kiss. Feeling his frantic pace, the woman let her head snap back against the stone behind her, eyes closing until just slits of green could be seen peeking out from her lids.

"I love you, Maleficent..."

"I...love you too..."

As the sun sank lower in the sky, a sharp scream tore through the air as she reached her climax, Diaval following not far behind her. The lovers sank to the floor together, only moving once their heart rates and breathing patterns slowed down. As they made their way back to the tree, the fairy reached up to feel the side of her neck, shooting a look to him when she felt the tender spot from his bite.

"You...are horrible."

"Mm...you loved it just as much as I did."

"Not denying it. Not at all."

When they reached the tree, they flew up into the nest and curled together, falling asleep after just minutes. Diaval pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before he joined her in sleep, muttering a soft `I love you` into her hair.

**AN: I know this sex scene was not as long as my others, but I just wasn't in the mood to write a long, drawn-out sex scene. Haven't been feeling well these past few days. The next one will be better, I promise! As always, review! Reviews make me a happy wolf!**


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty Six

Maleficent woke up in the middle of the night, an odd noise catching her attention. She lifted an eyebrow, and after freeing herself from Diaval's arms and dressing, she slipped down to the ground. After casting her eyes back up to the nest to be sure her lover was still sleeping, the fairy started walking towards the noise in question. It didn't take her long to find the culprit, and when she did, she could only blink and kneel down next to the apparently injured creature. Lying in front of her, was what appeared to be a small human child. When she reached out to roll the boy onto his side, a small pair of wings met her eyes, and her eyebrow shot up.

"What in the world...where did you come from?"

The young boy twitched a bit, and when he opened his eyes, he immediately scrambled away from her. Maleficent retracted her hand, letting it rest at her side as she folded her legs under her and sat down. The boy's tiny wings extended, and he watched her carefully with bright blue eyes. Letting her own wings extend a bit, she sent him a friendly smile, leaning forward a bit.

"You don't need to be afraid of me. I won't hurt you..."

"Who...who are you?"

"My name is Maleficent. I protect the Moors and it's people...who are you? I don't think I've seen you around here before..."

"My name is Charles...but I like Charlie better. I...I'm looking for my daddy...he said he was coming here...my mommy was holding me, but she was hurt and dropped me. I can't fly yet..."

Maleficent felt a sudden knot form in her throat, the child's bright eyes reminding her of her now-deceased brother.

"Where is your mother?"

"I don't know..."

The horned fairy extended her hand slowly, trying not to scare the boy too much. He hesitated for a moment before extending his hand as well, taking a step closer to her.

"It's alright, I promise I won't hurt you."

"Will you help me find my mommy?"

"Of course I will. Let's go enlist some more help."

With a nod, the little fairy followed, clinging to the tall woman's hand as they headed back towards the tree where Diaval still slept. Instructing him to wait at the base, she flew up and landed in the nest, gently shaking her lover awake. He snorted and opened his eyes, blinking and looking up at her in confusion.

"What's wrong?"

"I...think Damien may have had a son..."

"Wha..."

She shifted her eyes down to the base of the tree, and he leaned over to look, a wince crossing his face at seeing the child's resemblance.

"He's been separated from his mother, and we need to help him find her."

"How are we going to do that?"

"I don't know, but we need to try."

Diaval nodded, and the two of them flew down to land next to him, asking where he had fallen from his mother's arms. The little boy led them to the place where he'd hit the ground, and Maleficent looked up through the dense tree cover.

"Diaval...fly up and see if you can find anything. I'll stay here with him, alright?"

"Of course. I'll let you know what I find."

With a nod from the tall fairy, Diaval took to the sky, his sharp eyes watching the landscape like a hawk. The dark orbs locked onto a broken form in one of the clearings, and he winced, having a feeling he'd found Charles' mother. He circled a few times, looking for any threats, and when none could be seen, he landed near Maleficent again.

"I think I found her..."

"Show us..."

The former raven led them to the clearing, and the little boy immediately ran to the fallen woman's side.

"Mommy! Mommy wake up!"

"Oh no..."

Diaval reached over and laid a hand on her waist, seeing the sadness pass her eyes at realizing the boy may very well be an orphan now. She gave his shoulder a light squeeze before moving over and kneeling next to the woman, a fairy she'd never seen before, having a feeling she was from one of the other magical kingdoms.

"Charles...I'm so sorry..."

The little boy didn't respond, only buried his face in his mother's snowy white wings, sobbing when he realized she wasn't going to wake up. Maleficent winced a bit, reaching out to lay a gentle hand on the boy's back, only for him to turn around and launch himself into her lap, burying his face in her dress. She froze for a few seconds before lowering her hand to gently stroke his hair, trying to calm him.

"D...Daddy will come for me...right?"

"I...don't think so. Diaval is the only other male fairy here...one showed up a while ago...but he's...dead."

"But...if mommy and daddy are dead...I'm all alone..."

"No...you're not. You'll stay here with us, and we'll take care of you."

Diaval lifted an eyebrow and moved forward, kneeling down and resting a hand on Maleficent's waist again, the other reaching out to ruffle the young boy's medium length brown hair.

"Really?"

"Of course."

Charles again buried his face in the horned woman's dress, balling his hands into fists as he cried again. Maleficent leaned against her lover's side, the man pressing a gentle kiss to her temple. After nearly an hour of heart-wrenching sobs, they boy finally fell asleep against her legs. She picked him up and headed back towards the tree, settling him in the nest and covering him with a blanket of moss and leaves. Diaval watched her closely, secretly in awe of her motherly instincts that she had vehemently denied having before.

"Maleficent?"

"I...didn't know he had a family...a child..."

"How could you have? You did what you did to protect Aurora, remember that..."

She sighed and brushed some hair off the boy's forehead, her heart sinking at realizing she'd have to tell him what had really happened to his father, and who she was.

"You could just raise him as your own, you know."

"No. I won't lie to the boy, Diaval. He'll know who I am, and the truth about his father."

A few days passed, and once she gathered the courage, Maleficent told Charles everything that had happened. When he heard that she was his aunt, his eyes lit up, but quickly darkened when he heard what had happened. After the horned woman finished, the boy simply sat and stared at her, anger towards her, and happiness at knowing he had real family warring in his young eyes. Footsteps were heard in the Moors, twigs snapping as a voice called the tall fairy's name. Diaval turned and went to retrieve Aurora so the young Queen didn't get lost, leaving Charles and Maleficent alone. The two of them broke the tree-line, the blond immediately running over and wrapping the woman in a hug.

"Godmother!"

"Ah, hello beastie."

"Who's this?"

"This is Charlie...my...uh...my nephew."

"Your...oh..."

Aurora knelt down next to the little boy and smiled at him, her smile proving infectious as he returned it. His little wings fluttered excitedly, and he grumbled to himself.

"What's wrong?"

"My wings are too small for me. I can't fly."

"It's alright. You know, your father's wings developed slowly as well. His weren't full size until he was older."

"Really?"

"Mm hm. I'm sure yours will be big and strong once you grow a bit more."

A little giggle escaped the young fairy, and he ran off to play with some of the creatures he'd befriended in the three days he'd been in the Moors. Maleficent heaved a sigh and leaned back against the tree they'd been sitting near, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"So...he was your brother's son?"

"Yes. I didn't know he even existed until three days ago. His mother was killed, and I killed his father...it's only right we let him stay here."

Diaval, who had grown quite attached to Charles, followed him to make sure he didn't get lost. Maleficent simply chuckled and shook her head at seeing her lover trail after him.

"He'd make a good father..."

"Mm...yes, he would."

"Which brings me to another reason I'm here..."

Maleficent blinked and lifted an eyebrow, turning to face her goddaughter.

"What?"

"Phillip and I are thinking of having a baby..."

"Already? You two are so young...are you sure you're ready for a child of your own?"

The two of them sat and talked about the decision for a while, until Diaval came back into view, carrying a laughing Charles over his shoulder, the little boy's wings fluttering. The horned woman laughed and shook her head as he sat next to her with a grin.

"What on earth did you do to him, Diaval?"

"Apparently hide and seek isn't fair when the seeker can fly."

The horned fairy rolled her eyes and ruffled the boy's hair, which in turn caused him to climb over into her lap with a grin. Aurora smiled down at him, and waved, causing him to giggle again and wave back. A little later that afternoon, Charles got into a mud fight with some more of the inhabitants of the Moors, and subsequently got covered. Aurora laughed, and after the young Queen left, Maleficent took the little fairy to the lake so he could clean up. It wasn't long before he was clean, and they were headed back to the tree, the tall woman carrying him as he fell asleep.

"Love you, aunt Maleficent..."

"Goodnight, Charlie..."

Once back to the nest, Maleficent, Diaval and Charles all curled together in the bed of soft moss and leaves. The little boy curled up against her side and buried his face in her dress. She ran a hand through his hair before closing her eyes and letting sleep claim her as Diaval pulled her back against his chest with a smile.

**AN: Greetings faithful readers! Another chapter for all of you! So, Maleficent has a nephew?! How will THIS turn out? Will the little fairy stay with them, or will he leave? What feelings will having a young child around cause for our favorite pair of lovers? Will Aurora and Phillip have a child of their own, or will they wait?! So much to think about! Read and review, peoples! Reviews make me a happy wolf!**


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty Seven

When the pair of lovers woke up the next morning, the new addition to the Moors was nowhere to be found. Maleficent immediately went into a full blown panic, her wings carrying her into the sky where her sharp green eyes searched for the little fairy. Diaval searched from the ground, calling the boys name as he picked his way through the trees. The horned woman flew over the Moors, only to finally catch sight of Charles on a cliff, flapping his tiny wings desperately. She heaved a sigh of relief, and called down to Diaval that she'd found him, before landing behind him with a light rustle of feathers.

"What are you doing up here?"

"Trying to fly..."

"Charlie..."

"I want to fly!"  
>"I know you do. Being up here by yourself is dangerous, though. You could fall and get hurt..."<p>

With a huff, the little boy sat down and crossed his arms with a rather adorable pout.

"Everyone else can fly but me."

Maleficent sighed and sat down next to him, one of her wings wrapping itself around his small form and pulling him closer to her, away from the edge of the cliff.

"You want to hear a story?"

"Okay...what kind of story?"

"Well, it's a story about a fairy who lost her wings to a greedy human King. The fairy and the human knew each other since they were a little older than you are, and they were best friends. As they grew up, they fell in love, or rather, the fairy did. After she turned sixteen, her friend vanished, and it made her very sad. He had gone to live among the humans in the castle, hoping to make a name for himself with the royalty. It wasn't until both of them were fully grown that they saw each other again, and even then, it was under false pretenses. The fairy forgave him for abandoning her, and foolishly trusted him again. He drugged her, and while she was asleep, he cut off her wings and took them back to his King, so he would be named successor to the throne."

Charles stared open-mouthed at her, soaking up every word of her story like a sponge. The look of shocked wonder on his face caused her to chuckle and ruffle his hair a bit, lifting an eyebrow as he continued to stare. Another chuckle escaped as he prodded her to finish the story.

"Alright, alright. When the fairy woke up to find her wings gone, she spiraled into despair and betrayal. She soon found out about his promotion to King, and her despair turned into anger and hatred for her former friend. She was so caught up in her revenge, that she cursed the King's infant daughter. The fairy watched the little girl grow up away from the castle for fifteen years, and eventually grew to care for her. She tried to revoke the curse, but failed, helpless to do anything but watch as the young woman returned home, and the curse played out as planned on her sixteenth birthday.

The fairy was heartbroken that she'd caused such a fate for an innocent girl, and when a young prince failed to break the curse with true love's kiss, she went to the princess's side. She apologized for what she'd done, and kissed her on the forehead. Something happened then that neither the fairy nor her raven servant could have imagined; the young girl woke up. After a battle with the King and his soldiers, the fairy got her wings back."

Charles clambered to sit in her lap, peering up at her with knowledge beyond his young age.

"Were you the fairy?"

"Yes. I lived for sixteen years without my wings, so I know what it's like to yearn to fly. Don't worry, Charlie...your wings will be strong enough soon."

He nodded and leaned against her as Diaval appeared from around a tree, having walked up the path instead of flying to give the two some privacy to talk. She shot him a small smile and stood, her nephew moving to walk next to her, taking one of her hands and one of Diaval's as well as they headed back down the steep path. Some of the creatures the young fairy had befriended met them, and he ran off to play once he had permission. Seeing the look in his lover's eyes, the former raven slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him.

"What's going on in that brain of yours?"

"Just wondering...if I can make his wings grow..."

"That sounds like it would drain a lot of magic...and what if it doesn't work?"

She didn't respond, only leaned against him a bit more, watching the boy play in the distance. Diaval sat down and leaned back against a tree, pulling her back against his chest. Maleficent relaxed against him, her wings folding forward a bit to let her be more comfortable. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder and smiled a bit, nuzzling the back of her ear.

"I'm sure they'll grow soon enough."

Maleficent let out a sigh and closed her eyes, leaning her head back against his shoulder, a smile curling her lips when she heard the little boy laughing as he played with the Moor's residents near-by. Diaval smiled as well and watched him carefully, letting the horned woman relax against him. After nearly an hour, Charles came running over to them, grabbing the woman's hand.

"Aunt Maleficent! Come play with us!"

The fairy in question opened her eyes and peered down at him with a lifted eyebrow. He simply tugged on her hand, causing her to chuckle and move to stand, following him over to a small group of creatures.

"What are we playing?"

No sooner had the words left her lips, than her nephew chucked a ball of mud at her, hitting her square in the forehead. Maleficent stood rooted in place, blinking rapidly at the sudden attack.

"Why you little..."

Charles laughed and took off running, as did the other creatures, as the tall woman used her wing to scoop up some mud and throw it back. Diaval laughed from his spot by the tree, only to be, once again, hit in the face with a large volume of mud. He blinked in response, wiping it from his eyes and mouth before laughing again and getting up, joining the game. After a few hours of playing in the dirt, the trio of fairies headed to the lake near their tree to clean up. It wasn't long before they were free of any mud and debris from their game, and Maleficent was telling her nephew another story as they relaxed in the nest.

Diaval kissed her forehead and lifted into the sky to do a quick patrol of their lands while the horned fairy remained in the tree with the young boy. The sound of wings coming closer caught her attention, and she immediately created a shield of limbs and leaves when the person approaching was /not/ her lover. Her bright green eyes narrowed when a woman with jet black wings landed near the tree. Maleficent covered Charles's mouth until she got a good look at their new visitor.

"I know you're watching me, Maleficent. Is that any way to treat your Aunt?"

Her eyebrow shot up into her hairline and she allowed the shield of tree limbs to fall, the little boy climbing down the tree and running towards the other woman.

"Aunt Petal!"

"My little Charlie! I was worried about you!"

Maleficent flew down to the ground and landed in front of the woman now standing in the middle of the clearing.

"Aunt Petal...it's been a long time."

"Indeed it has. Where are his parents?"

"I...I'm afraid they're dead."

Petal's eyebrows shot up and she turned her eyes down to the little boy clinging to her neck as she held him. Diaval, sensing the new arrival, landed as well, his wing spreading to block his lover from view. A light chuckle escaped the black-haired woman in front of him, and he felt a gentle hand pushing his wing aside.

"It's alright, Diaval. This is my Aunt, Petal. She's my father's sister."

The former raven relaxed only slightly, letting his wings fold against his back as he moved to stand next to Maleficent. The horned woman explained everything that had happened, causing Petal to shake her head and sigh.

"I always knew something was off with that boy. It's a shame you had to be the one to end him."

She huffed and leaned against Diaval's side, his arm slipping around her waist from his position seated behind her on a slightly higher tree root. When the sky began to darken only slightly, Petal stood, holding Charles on her him with a smile.

"Are you ready to go home, little man?"

"Uh huh."

Charles squirmed out of her grip and ran back to Maleficent, who picked him up to receive a hug around the neck.

"Thanks for taking care of me, Aunt Maleficent."

"Of course. You're always welcome here, Charlie."

The little boy smiled and once back in his other Aunt's arms, the woman said goodbye as well and took to the sky, flying off into the distance. Diaval again slipped an arm around the horned fairy's waist, giving it a gentle squeeze when he saw a brief flash of sadness cross her eyes.

"You okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

He nodded and kissed her cheek before flying up to the nest and situating himself for the night. After a few moments she joined him, curling up and resting her head on his shoulder, a hand on his chest.

"Goodnight, love..."

"Goodnight, birdie. I love you..."

"I love you too."

Diaval kissed her forehead and closed his eyes, his wing spreading and covering them like a feathery blanket of warmth. Maleficent simply sat awake for a while, her mind reeling a bit from the sudden departure of the young boy she'd grown used to sharing the nest with as well. She sighed and re-adjusted her position, closing her eyes and allowing herself to fall asleep after a few hours.

**AN: WOW. Sorry for the delay in updates. I've been swamped with school stuff and just haven't had a chance to write/update until now. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I hope to have another up this week as well. As always, review! Reviews make me a happy wolf!**


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight

When the sun rose on a morning about a week after Charlie had left, Maleficent woke to find herself alone in the nest. The sounds of a soft conversation could be heard below her, and she sat up to investigate. Aurora and Diaval were seated on the roots of a tree not far away, and the blond had a wide smile on her face. Lifting an eyebrow when she saw the young Queen motion to her stomach, the horned fairy decided it was time to see what was being talked about, and climbed down from the nest.

"Not trying to keep secrets from me, now are you?"

"Godmother!"

The fairy simply chuckled as the blond got up and darted forward, wrapping her in a tight hug, which she immediately returned.

"What's all this about, then? Hmm?"

"Phillip and I are going to be parents!"

Maleficent's eyebrows shot up, and she looked down at her goddaughter in surprise.

"You're pregnant beastie?"

A nod and a giggle were what she got in response to her question, and the two of them moved over to join Diaval where he sat. He greeted his mate with a kiss on the forehead before wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Where is Phillip, anyways? You'd think he'd come with you."

"He's taking care of kingdom duties today so I could come and see you."

"I see."

Aurora explained that the castle's healer had guessed that she was about a month into her pregnancy, and that Phillip had nearly fainted on the spot when she'd told him. The pair of fairy's laughed and shook their heads at that, Diaval wishing he could have seen that reaction first hand. Maleficent agreed, chuckling once again as the pixies flew by. Aurora stopped them and told them the news as well, causing a group squeal from the three that had raised the girl. The young Queen found herself nearly knocked from her seat as they all flew forward and hugged her at once, the four breaking into girlish giggles.

"Oh congratulations, your Majesty!"

"Thank you. I'm so excited!"

Seeing her goddaughter so happy caused a grin to curl the horned fairy's lips, and once she was free of the pixies, leaned over to kiss her forehead.

"Congratulations indeed."

"Oh, you will be there when the baby is born, won't you godmother?"

"Of course I will, beastie. I'm sure Diaval will be as well, right, birdie?"

"Of course!"

The blond smiled and again leaned over to hug the tall woman beside her, before doing the same to Diaval. Both of them returned her smile, finding it near impossible to /not/ do so, but the horned fairy's eyes didn't seem as happy as her smile. Aurora stood when they insisted she return home to the castle, not wanting Phillip or Stefan to worry about her, and after sharing more hugs with her extended family, she indeed set out for the castle. Once she was gone, Diaval immediately turned to Maleficent and lifted an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Don't play innocent with me...what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Diaval. Why would anything be wrong?"

"Normally when you smile at Aurora your eyes light up, but they didn't this time. What is it?"

With a sigh, the fairy let her large wings droop behind her, and shook her head with a light chuckle.

"I'm just...I don't know. She's barely an adult herself, and now she's going to have a baby?"

"You're worried about her."

A nod was his response, and she turned to head off through the Moors, hoping a walk would ease the discomfort she felt. Diaval followed her, gently reaching out to take her hand. A small smile quirked the corner of her mouth, but that was the only response he got from the touch.

"Maleficent..."

"Don't, birdie. I know I shouldn't worry, but...I get this feeling something bad is going to happen..."

"Like what?"

"I...don't know. I don't think she has to worry about curses or anything like that, of course...but...I'm just un-easy for some reason."

"Aurora is a tough girl, I'm sure she'll be fine."

With a sigh, Maleficent stopped walking and turned her face up towards the sky. He stopped as well, moving to slip an arm around the horned woman's waist, his jet black wings folding around her to try and ease her mind. Finally relenting, she leaned back against him, letting her eyes slip shut. After walking for a couple more hours, and repeatedly telling Diaval she would be fine, Maleficent took to they sky and flew over the moors. Fighting his instincts to follow her, the former raven returned to their nest to await her return.

The woman eventually landed on top of a cliff that overlooked the entire Kingdom, where she sat down and wrapped her wings around herself to ward off the slight chill of the wind. The horned fairy simply couldn't shake the odd feeling she had in the pit of her stomach, the feeling that something horrible was going to happen once-or before-Aurora's child was born. She ran a hand through her feathers in an attempt to quiet her mind, and sighed when it failed.

"Why do I feel this way..."

The thought of something deadly befalling either her goddaughter, or her child caused a sick feeling to take over, and Maleficent laid down on the soft grass, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Diaval is right...the little beastie is tough. I'm sure I'm worrying for no reason..."

After sitting for another hour or so, she decided to return to the nest as the sun sank lower in the sky. Once she arrived, she curled up next to her lover, who was already sound asleep, gently resting her head in the curve of his shoulder. He grunted slightly and his arm wound around her waist out of instinct as he continued to sleep. One of her wings curled around them, trapping warmth within the feathery blanket. Maleficent closed her eyes, and once her mind stopped running in circles, she allowed herself to fall asleep as well.

At some point around midnight, the fairy found herself jolted awake by a nightmare. Sitting up, she ran a hand through her hair and let out a sigh, both wings curling in around her. Oblivious, Diaval remained asleep, a fact that caused Maleficent to shake her head and chuckle a bit. Not wanting to actually wake the man next to her, she refrained from leaving their tree, knowing that the moment she did, he would come looking for her. Peering up at the sky, her brow furrowed when she saw a large figure pass in front of the moon, casting a brief shadow before vanishing from sight. Her natural curiosity getting the better of her, she gently lifted from the tree and flew up into the sky, hovering in the light of the moon.

The woman cast her eyes over the Moors, trying to locate the figure from a few moments earlier, yet found nothing. Casting her gaze down to where Diaval lay, surprisingly still sound asleep, she flew in the direction that the shadowed thing had gone. The sound of rustling below her caught her attention, and she slowly lowered herself to the ground, sharp green eyes watching the shadows of the trees closely. As she landed, the source of the sound caused her to sigh and allow her wings to relax behind her. A pair of deer, a fawn and doe, could be seen wandering the trees, looking for something to eat.

"Getting spooked by a few deer...what's wrong with me..."

"Beautiful, aren't they?"

Maleficent whirled around at the deep voice behind her, wings spread to their full span. Her eyebrows knitted together when there was no-one there to have provided the voice she knew she'd heard.

"Gentle, peaceful beings...only having to worry about survival..."

Spinning again when the voice came from another direction, Maleficent gave a sound akin to a growl when, again, she was met with nothing but air. Her feathers stood on end, and a shiver raced up her spine when she heard it yet again, directly in her ear.

"If only all creatures could be so gentle. Something is coming, my little sparrow, something that will test even your power."

With that, the voice faded away, leaving the horned fairy to contemplate the meaning of the words, and where the voice had come from. With another shudder, she returned to the nest, again curling close to Diaval where he slept. Her last thought before sleep claimed her, was what the mysterious voice had called her; little sparrow.

**AN: HELLO! Forgive me for the slow update, but I've been SUPER busy with school and clinicals, as well as trying to get my little business up and running. I know this chapter is short, but I am doing my best. My brain is developing writers block, and I'm not sure where to go with this story right now, so it will more than likely be a while before my next update. I want to be sure to post quality chapters, and not garbage, so bear with me! Please be sure and review with any ideas/suggestions on where to take this story! Reviews make me a happy wolf!**


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